Come back, be here
by leah.sydnee
Summary: The story of Lily and James relationship from the end of fifth year onwards including all the mayhem they and their friends get up to during their time at Hogwarts and during the first wizarding war. *Has been rewritten from the beginning for those who read the original story. [Edited]
1. The Beginning of the End

The bright afternoon light cast shadows across the stone floors of the Entrance Hall. The distant chiming of the clock on the other end of the castle was met with the scraping of chairs along the floor in the adjoining hall. He sat there, glancing at his watch, waiting for the moment when the doors would crack open, hitting the surrounding stonewalls and the fifth year students would come flooding out at last.

His eyes scanned through the masses of students whose once nervous faces were beaming as bright as the summer sun as they headed out towards the grounds. He spotted the group of them as they walked through the door.

The four girls were talking animatedly as they made their way towards them. The two brunette's seemed content, meanwhile the blonde was laughing nervously at whatever the smiling auburn-haired girl had said. The smallest brunette's eyes lit up when she spotted him, running away from the group towards him, running straight into his arms. He picked her up, swinging her around before placing her back on the ground.

"Hey," she smiled at him before she kissed him deeply causing the other girls to moan loudly.

"I just suffered through that exam, don't make me suffer through this too!" Marlene McKinnon groaned mockingly, covering her eyes, pretending she was an innocent young girl for the added dramatic effect.

Alice reached back shoving her hand in Marlene's face trying to push her away whilst her lips remained locked with Frank's.

"The exam wasn't even that horrendous," Lily advocated as she placed her quills back in her bag, completely oblivious to the death glares Marlene was sending her way.

"Besides," Hestia sighed happily, stepping in for Lily, "They look cute together, so let them be. Just because we are currently without relationships does not mean that we should annoy those of us who do," she reasoned.

Marlene rolled her eyes. "It is days like today where I have no clue in the world why I am friends with you three," she grumbled, running her fingers through her long blonde braid, letting her hair fall loose. "That feels so much nicer," she confessed, looking back at her friends.

"What did I miss?" Lily asked, moving to stand next to Hestia having finished organizing her bag.

"We were just about to decide what to do now," Hestia exclaimed, far too merrily for Marlene so soon after the exam.

"The lake? We could probably find a spot to jump in," Marlene suggested, a grin finally gracing her face for the first time since the exam season had begun.

"I'm in!" Hestia and Lily both chided.

The three girls turned to Alice and Frank who were completely caught up in their own little world. "Uh, guys?"

"Huh- what?" Alice questioned, jumping at the girls words.

"Did you two love birds want to join us at the lake?" Marlene pressed, sending a knowing smirk Alice's way.

Frank looked down at Alice pleadingly, her still firmly in his grasp. She grinned widely at him before turning to her friends and shaking her head. "Catch up with you later," she told them distractedly before being led away from the entrance hall by Frank.

The girls laughed a little at Alice's love-struck expression before exiting the hall themselves and stepping out into the bright summer day.

"Lily!" Severus' voice sounded out across the courtyard.

Lily spun around, a smile gracing her face as her eyes fell upon her best friend as he came running out of the entrance hall, trying to dodge people as he went.

"Sev," she exclaimed, hugging the boy. "How did it go for you?"

He grinned widely. "Probably about the same as it went for you," he told her.

"That's great then," she laughed, swinging her bag to the other shoulder.

"Are you two know-it-alls going to keep discussing how exciting the written component of DADA was or can we actually get going to the lake?" Marlene groaned from where she and Hestia were waiting for the others.

Hestia hit her on the arm. "Oh would you hush up already?" she exclaimed.

"Hest! We're officially done for the year! Shouldn't I be able to revel in that without having to hear them go on and on and on about an exam I probably got a troll on?"

"You did not get a troll," Hestia assured her, "Probably more like a poor, or acceptable if you're lucky…"

Marlene slapped her back. "Harsh!"

"Well you asked for it…"

"I was ranting or am I not allowed to do that either?"

"Girls!" Lily intervened.

"Not excessively. Like you said we're done for the year, be happy!" they continued bickering with one another, ignorant to Lily's protests. She apologized to Severus before stepping forward and grabbing both her friends by their forearm's, finally getting their attention.

"We will stop discussing exams if you both agree to stop this whatever this is," she rationalized, staring them both down.

"Good!" Marlene exclaimed, more chipper than she had been before.

Lily and Hestia watched her for a moment as she strode merrily to the grounds.

"Let's go," Hestia sighed, grabbing both Lily's and Snape's arm, dragging them out of the courtyard. "If we don't follow her, she's going to go off again…"

The three girls and Severus darted across the school grounds that were filled with students enjoying their last day in the highlands before they would return home for the summer. The group laughed all the way down to the lake's edge.

"Robe's off," Marlene instructed when they all made it there.

The girls immediately threw off their cloaks, shoes, socks, house sweaters and their ties, leaving them in their kilts and white dress shirts.

"Are you not coming in?" Lily asked when she noticed he was standing off to the side.

Severus shook his head, holding up his book. Lily smiled at him knowingly.

"Watch our stuff then?" she asked him before turning around to join hands with the girls. Severus laughed at the girls as they prepared themselves for the freezing cold water.

"I hope you girls aren't wearing brightly coloured undergarments," Marlene laughed wildly before she tugged them all forward at full speed. They launched themselves, shrieking, off of the dock.

Severus watched as they were submerged in the water and again when they reappeared at the surface shrieking and screaming, splashing water at one another as they made their way back towards the shore.

He watched her as she crawled up onto the shore, laughing. Her hair was dripping as she approached him, her white shirt soaked though completely, revealing her admittedly stunning figure and her striped green bra. He gulped nervously as she approached. He had watched the girls jump in the lake on the last day every year since first year, but this year Lily's body had changed significantly, something he thanked the universe for everyday this year. She grinned at him as she approached, shivering.

"I think it gets colder every year," she laughed shakily, as she dug through her bag for the pieces of towel they had cut up in first year for this very purpose. She pulled her wand out, making the small pieces into large towels.

She turned around to hand the towels off to the girls.

"Whose idea was it to do this again?" Hestia asked, laughing.

Lily and Marlene both shrugged.

"I bet it was Alice," Marlene grumbled.

"Because she's the only one not here?" Hestia laughed.

"I'm starting to think she is the brains of the group instead of Lils here," Marlene teased, messing up Lily's tangled hair.

"Say whatever you want," Lily chided, "But remember this moment when you come asking for assistance with potions or charms next year…"

Marlene went wide-eyed.

"That's what I thought," Lily smirked, before laughing and giving the girl a hug.

"Ok, both of you step back," Hestia ordered, pointing her wand at the both of them. Within seconds the girls were all dry.

"I'll see you at the feast," Severus said, standing up abruptly.

"Everything alright?" Lily asked as she pulled her sweater back over her head.

"I just have a lot to pack before we leave in the morning," he told her, smiling a little before waving to the girls and trekking back up the hill into the trees.

"Ok, well see you at the feast," she called to him just as he disappeared into the trees.

The girls continued pulling their sweaters back on, opting to shove their socks into their bags instead of having to deal with pulling them back on.

"I am so ready for France," Marlene exclaimed as she draped her cloak over her one arm whilst she placed her bag on her other shoulder.

"Not enjoying the Scottish weather?" Hestia teased, slipping on her shoes.

"More like not enjoying the Hogwarts men," Marlene grumbled once the girls started their trek up the hill.

"There are some good ones," Hestia argued.

"Like who? Besides that seventh sixth year Ravenclaw that you have had a crush on since third year…"

"Remus Lupin and his friends aren't bad to look at."

"You've got to be joking," Lily scoffed.

"Lily, don't you think that if you didn't have such a problem with James and Sirius that you might think of them as at least mildly attractive?" Hestia questioned her.

"But I do have a problem with them so no I don't think that's going to happen," Lily told her simply.

"Were we not good enough to hang out with?" Marlene called up ahead.

Lily and Hestia turned to look to where Severus was standing up ahead, looking as though he was talking to someone that they couldn't make out past the trees. By the time they reached him though, whoever he had been talking to had vanished.

"No, I just got distracted," he lied, smiling at them.

"Whatever you say," Marlene sighed, patting him on the shoulder as she and Hestia walked past him, continuing on towards the castle.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Lily asked him, concern spreading across her face as she took in his sickly appearance.

"I said I was fine!" he snapped.

Lily's eyes went wide at this, taking a step back.

"I'll just see you later then," she stuttered, tripping as she continued to back up. She turned around eventually her eyes glued to the ground as she walked away in no particular direction.

"Lily? Is that you?"

"Hagrid," she sighed, a smile returning to her face. "I didn't see you there."

"Yer head was down, that'd be why," the half-giant chuckled.

"You're right," she admitted. Her eyes glanced down to the large bag of apples in his hand. "Are you going to feed them?" she asked him eagerly.

Hagrid beamed at the young girl. "Would ya like to come?"

Lily nodded.

"So what are yer doin' out here all by yerself?" he questioned her, "I thought you'd be celebratin yer O.W.L's with yer friends. Where are the girls today?"

"I was with them, up until about five minutes ago," she told him, "We were celebrating the usual way."

"How cold was the water today?"

"Freezing like you wouldn't believe," she laughed when they reached the edge of the clearing.

Hagrid ripped open the bag, placing a couple of apples into Lily's waiting hands.

"Point me," she told him.

Hagrid led her down into the clearing where they roamed. He stopped her just short of one of the tree roots nearby.

"Place yer hand out as far as you can reach," he directed her as he wandered away to feed the others.

She waited for the odd sensation that came from feeding the invisible creature. Feeling its bony face and wet nose nuzzle against your palm before it would eat the food you had out for it, taking the visible and making it invisible as it did.

A smile stretched widely across her face as the Thestral continued to nuzzle against her, long after she had run out of food.

"It's goin' to be time for the feast soon, ye might want to head up soon to change if ya don't want to go around smellin' like lake water," Hagrid chuckled.

"You're probably right," she sighed, checking her watch. "Thanks for letting me help, Hagrid. I'll make sure to say goodbye before we leave tomorrow."

The half-giant chuckled at the girl, waving at her as she left before he wandered off to feed his blast-ended skrewts.

She was racing out of the forest when she heard it: the laughter that accompanied them wherever they went. She changed her direction from the castle, back towards the lake at a quick pace, praying that she wasn't too late to help whoever the poor soul was from their unfortunate meeting with him. She came around a grove of trees when she saw it, able to watch it all unfold from her place upon the slope.

"Wash out your mouth," James Potter said coldly, "_Scourgify!" _

Lily's legs moved quickly towards him, her heart racing as she was forced to watch the soap bubbles spew out of Severus' mouth and the undeniable signs of choking that his body was portraying.

"Excuse me, sorry," she apologized a couple of times as she pushed through the crowd.

"Potter! Leave him ALONE!" she yelled when she finally reached the front.

"All right, Evans?" said James, the tone of his voice dropping as she approached.

"Leave him alone," she repeated, glaring at him. "What's he done to you?"

"Well," James contemplated the thought for a few moments, "It's more the fact that he exists, if you know what I mean…" he told her, arousing a laugh out of the surrounding students.

"You think you're funny, but you're just an arrogant, bullying toerag, Potter. Leave him _alone._"

"I will if you go out with me, Evans. Go on… go out with me and I'll never lay a wand on old Snivelly again."

She stepped closer to him. "I wouldn't go out with you," she spat at him, enunciating every word, "If it was a choice between you and the Giant Squid."

She turned around, meaning to help Severus but by the time she had turned around and rolled her eyes at Sirius Black's comment, he was already holding his wand directing it past her to Potter where a moment later after a flash of light a deep gash appeared on his face, spewing blood. She didn't even have a second to react when her best friend was all of a sudden hoisted upside down into the air, with his grey underpants showing. She held back a laugh at the sight, reminded of their younger years, but her desire to laugh ceased when she heard James Potter and co's roaring laughter.

"Let him down!" she yelled at them once again.

James did just as she asked, causing Severus to fall into a crumpled heap on the ground. She rushed to his side, trying to help him up when another shot was fired at Severus, this time by Sirius, causing him to straighten up before toppling over to the ground. He had such bad luck with people.

She spun around, angrily glaring at the boys before screeching, "LEAVE HIM ALONE!" pulling her wand out of her pocket for the first time since the event had began, pointing it directly at the two boys ahead.

"Ah, Evans, don't make me hex you," James told her earnestly.

"Take the curse off him, then!" she argued, her wand still pointed at his chest.

James Potter sighed before releasing Severus to Lily. She started walking back towards her friend, choosing to ignore whatever bait James was throwing at her to get a rouse out of her and whatever Severus would undoubtedly throw back at him because of it when she heard the unforgiveable words leave her best-friends lips.

"I don't need help from filthy little Mudbloods like her."

She staggered backward, blinking.

"Fine," she told him coolly for the first time since meeting him, "I won't bother to help in the future," she added, walking off, but stopping just short of him to mutter her last few words. "And I'd wash your pants, if I were you, _Snivellus_."

"Apologize to Evans!" James roared at Snape, his wand pointing threateningly at him.

"I don't want _you_ to make him apologize," she shouted, rounding on the messy-haired boy, "You're as bad as he is."

Potter's face fell. "What? I'd NEVER call you a you-know-what!"

"Messing up your hair because you think it looks cool to look like you've just got off your broomstick, showing off with that stupid Snitch, walking down corridors and hexing anyone who annoys you, just because you can—I'm surprised your broomstick can get off the ground with that fat head on it. You make me SICK," she shouted at him before taking off towards the castle.

Her pace never slowed down the entire way back. She saw the entrance hall before her and stopped. She didn't want to see anyone else right now. She needed to be alone. Where could she go to be alone?

Her feet knew where to go before she did, immediately taking off away from the entrance hall. They carried her along the perimeter of the castle walls, her hand grazing the stone as they did. By the time she reentered the castle she was on the far west side in the abandoned wing that rarely anyone visited anymore. The last time she had been in these halls was in second year, the last year classes were held there.

He was everywhere here though. His laughter was present as ghost of their younger selves past by her before fading into the light.

He was impossible to shake.

* * *

><p>"Where is she?" Hestia asked the girls in a concerned whisper as she looked around the hall for the missing auburn-haired girl. "She was supposed to come back to the common room to change with us after the lake…"<p>

Alice smacked her hand down on the table. "She can't miss the feast!"

"Well she can't," she told them a little softer after noting the two girls startled expressions. "It's one of her favourite meals of the year," she explained when they continued to stare at her.

Hestia sighed loudly again when she looked around to still find her nowhere in sight.

Marlene looked around, her eyes falling on a group of boys just a little ways down from them huddled together over some sort of parchment. "I bet those idiots would know where she is," she suggested, motioning to the boys.

"Considering one of them practically tracks her every movement, I'm sure they would," Alice rationalized, before they all got up from the table.

"Everything is in place right?" James questioned, eyeing each of his friend's down as he did. Each of the Marauders in turn nodded at him, indicating that everything was set.

"Ok, well now all we have to do is- WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Sirius yelled seconds later, jumping off the bench in protest just as Marlene released his silky locks from her grip.

"Getting your attention," Marlene answered with a smirk, looking far too happy for the boys to feel comfortable with where this was headed. "Oh, quit whining," she groaned when the boy wouldn't stop complaining, shoving him back down on the bench.

"Now that we've settled that…" Hestia sighed.

"Where is she, Potter?" Alice demanded, starring down the raven-haired, be speckled boy who appeared to be shrinking in his seat.

James' eyes had grown wide, darting away from Alice's gaze and instead towards his utensils which suddenly looked like the most interesting things in the world.

"Since when do you call him, Potter, Alice?" Frank questioned her, coming up behind the group.

"Would you please just tell us where we could find her?" Hestia pleaded with the four other boys.

"She's not here," Sirius commented rather idiotically after quickly glancing around.

"Really?" Marlene gasped sarcastically, smacking the boy upside the head "Hadn't noticed!"

"We haven't seen her since the er uh event this afternoon," Remus cut in.

The girls looked between one another.

"What event?" Hestia asked to the general population.

The Marauders all looked elsewhere, whilst Frank gulped a little.

"You," Alice said, turning on her boyfriend, "You know something!"

His eyes flashed between the three girls. "You really didn't hear, did you?" he asked them. They all shook their heads. "Snape turned on Lily when she was standing up for him today. He called her a, well you know…"

"No," Hestia gasped, her hands coming directly to her face. "Why would he do that?"

Alice looked at the boys, immediately realizing what had happened. She placed a comforting hand on Hestia's shoulder. "I don't think it matters why he did, but that he did," she told the girls calmly.

"We have to find her," Marlene urged them, grabbing a hold of both their arms and charging out of the hall, "Now."

"Split up?" Hestia suggested once they reached the stairs.

"Each of us take a wing and meet back here in fifteen for the feast," Alice ordered, checking her watch. " Oh and Marlene," she added, just as the blonde was headed up the stairs, "Don't beat the story out of her if you find her!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," the blonde grumbled before taking off.

* * *

><p>She could hear footsteps from down the hall from her place on the floor behind the old professors desk. Lily slowly stood up, creeping quietly through the classroom.<p>

"Lily?" she heard Hestia's calm voice ring out through the old deserted charms corridor.

Hestia poked her head into one of the classrooms to see it just as empty as the rest just as the fifteen-minute mark was coming to a close.

Lily peaked out from behind the wooden door, before stepping out into the hall. "Hestia?"

The brunette spun on her heel, sprinting down the hall toward her. Hestia ran straight into her, brushing through her hair as she hugged her tightly.

"What are you doing up here?" Lily asked, once they pulled apart.

"Looking for you obviously," Hestia said, straightening Lily's tie.

"Now, what are you doing?" she asked, when the brunette pulled out her wand.

"You can't go to the feast looking like a mess and smelling like well, the lake," Hestia told her, grinning.

Lily felt her clothes rumple for a second before she sniffed the collar of her shirt, smelling the fresh laundered scent. "I still am not as good at them as you are," Lily sighed, smiling.

Hestia grinned, looping her arm in Lily's before she started dragging the redhead back down the corridor.

"So why here?" Hestia questioned her, looking around the abandoned wing as they moved through it.

Lily shrugged, "It was secluded, and far away from everyone and everything I guess."

"And because this is where you and Severus used to come," Hestia added insightfully, giving her friend a small smile. "He's sorry you know," Hestia told her comfortingly.

"I don't think he is," Lily said softly, her voice wavering. "He calls everyone else like me a mudblood. It was just a matter of time before he reduced me to that status too…"

"Maybe," Hestia contemplated, "But he wasn't the person I was talking about…" she sighed, when they rounded the corner to the Great Hall and they both saw Alice and Marlene sitting back at the table just a few seats away from the Marauders.

Lily groaned outwardly. "Hestia!"

"I'm just saying!" the brunette laughed.

"Lily!" Alice and Marlene's voice rang out from behind them. The two girls turned around just in time for them to both be tackled in a group hug.

"Where have you been?" Alice badgered her. "Where did you find her?" she asked Hestia immediately afterwards.

"I was in the abandoned wing, I just wanted sometime to regroup before the feast," Lily explained softly, her swollen eyes meeting those of her friends. When no one said anything, Lily sighed again. "Let's just go into the feast all right, reckon it's about to begin," she suggested, trying to sound happy as she pushed past her friend, moving into the hall.

"Do you really think she's alright?" Alice whispered as they filed in behind Lily and the last few straggling students.

The three of them watched as Lily's head turned towards the Slytherin table, her eyes landing on Severus. She glared at the boy for a moment before walking on ahead and taking her seat.

The girls followed her lead, taking their own seats but it wasn't until then that they noticed the tears that were slowly but surely falling from her red, swollen eyes.

"Answer your question?" Marlene asked Alice harshly, gathering Lily in a hug.

"Well she looks terrible," Sirius noted, looking down the table at the girls. The comment earned a slap from the three other boys.

James couldn't take his eyes off of Lily's swollen eyes.

"I-I have to do something," he stuttered, talking more so to Remus than anyone else.

"Prongs, right now isn't the time," Remus said, clapping his friend on the shoulder. "She just had a falling out with one of her best-friends and no matter how much you and Sirius don't understand their friendship, it meant something to her, and that is going to take sometime to get over."

"Besides, Prongs, I know this isn't what you want to hear but she is going to blame you for this for a while. Give her room to figure things out before you go doing anything stupid that will completely ruin your chances with her forever," Peter suggested insightfully.

"Yes, o wise ones," Sirius mocked, but James glared at him. He looked back to Lily, mulling over Remus' advice as he did. He really screwed up.

* * *

><p>The landscape of the highlands quickly transitioned into the midlands as the Hogwarts Express barreled through the English countryside. In their compartment on the train, Lily, Marlene, Hestia and Alice stretched out across the seats and on the floor, taking turns talking and napping as the journey progressed.<p>

"Lily," Hestia moaned, half asleep curled up on the floor, using her cloak as a pillow.

"No," she responded shortly, flipping over to face the padded side of the seat.

"Lil, he comes knocking every 5 minutes!" Marlene growled, but the pillow that her face was buried into muffled the harshness of her voice.

"Oh, not them," Alice moaned tiredly as she sat facing the compartment door, noticing their new disturbers.

Lily flipped over quickly and sat up, a little disoriented before her eyes took in the figures of Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Sirius Black and James Potter outside their compartment door. James' eyes lit up a little when her eyes met his but her eyes just appeared more tired. She sat up, stretching her arms as Hestia scrambled up towards the door.

"Can we help you with something?" Marlene called out to them before Hestia had the chance to say anything.

"We just wanted to grace you with our presence before we are all tragically separated for the entire summer," Sirius announced, sauntering into their compartment and flopping back into the seat across from Lily.

The other boys followed his lead, invading their cabin.

"Er, come on in," Hestia greeted them awkwardly once they had already taken their seats. She grabbed a seat next to Remus who had settled in next to Lily. Peter had taken a place next to Alice on the floor and the other two boys had sandwiched Marlene on the other bench.

They all sat there awkwardly for a few minutes before Alice piped up. "So what are you all doing for the summer?"

"Staying at home with my mum," Peter shrugged.

"Going away to spend some time with family on the coast," Remus smiled.

"Really?" Lily asked, thoroughly interested, "Where about?"

"The Heritage Coast."

"We're going there this summer too!" Hestia squealed excitedly.

Remus arched his eyebrows at the girl. "We?"

"My family has a cottage there," Lily smiled, "Hestia comes with us when we go down every summer. We will have to meet up if you're down there when we are" Lily suggested, laughing, a sound, which made James smile as he watched her interact with his friend.

"You never said what you both were doing," Marlene reminded James and Sirius.

"Hanging around at James' house as per usual," Sirius grinned, high-fiving James as he did.

"How do your parents deal with having the both of you under one roof for an entire summer?" Marlene laughed.

"They are gone on missions a lot," James said truthfully, "But when they are home they just try to avoid whatever part of the house we're in," he chuckled.

"Mrs. Potter thinks that if she can't hear the damage we're causing that it isn't happening," Sirius exclaimed.

They all laughed at the thought just as the train was pulling into King's Cross Station.

The boys said their goodbyes to the girls before returning to their own compartment to grab their things.

"One more day, one more day," Marlene muttered to herself as she pulled her trunk down from the rack.

"What are you saying?" Lily chuckled after Marlene has been chanting her nonsense for over a minute.

"I just have to make it one day with my family before I get on a plane to Southern France for the entire summer," Marlene sighed blissfully as the girls moved down the corridor to one of the nearby exits.

"You're family is so nice, why do you want to get away from them that much?" Alice questioned.

"She's using them as an excuse, all she really cares about it getting it on with one of the French boys," Hestia announced. Marlene slapped her. "Well it's why you're so excited! It's all you've been talking about for weeks!"

Marlene grinned. "Don't you wish you were coming with me instead of Lils?"

"I take offense to that!" Lily half shrieked, half laughed.

"I love spending time with you, Lils," Hestia assured her.

"Good," Lily grinned, "You're going to be my saving grace since Petunia's new boyfriend is coming with us this time…"

"I think you may have failed to mention that…" Hestia commented, "But I'm happy to be of any help I can, plus the beach there is to die for anyways. It's totally worth it!"

"Glad to know what's really important to you, Hest," Lily teased. "I'm kidding!" she shrieked seconds later when Hestia hit her, "You're all so abusive today."

"That's not really anything new, Lils," Marlene told her truthfully as the girls, one by one, pulled their trunks off of the train and onto the Platform once again. "I'll see you in Diagon Alley at the end of summer, I promise," she told them all, gathering them up in a group hug before she darted off towards her parents.

"Write to me often!" Alice called to Hestia and Lily as Frank pulled her into the crowd towards their waiting families.

"What are the chances that our mums have already planned their outings for the entire summer already?" Hestia joked just as they came towards their parents.

"Not only have they planned them all, but they've planned them straight up until the annual trip to the Ballet at Christmas," Lily laughed.

"Lils!" Jonathan Evans exclaimed when Lily was finally in sight, breaking up the girls' conversation. He pushed himself off the wall, excusing himself from his prior conversation, striding towards her to envelope her in a giant hug.

Lily buried her head in his chest. "I missed you too, dad."

Mr. Evans took a step back, ruffling Lily's hair before he stepped turning to greet Hestia so his wife could have at their youngest daughter.

Lily breathed in the familiar scent of her mum's perfume as she hugged the older women tightly, having missed her greatly over the past few months.

"We've missed you so much, sweetheart," Claire Evans sighed, placing a kiss on her daughters cheek. "Next year you are coming home for the Easter holidays, none of this staying at school to study nonsense," she teased, grabbing a hold of Lily's book bag and swinging it on to her own back. "Ready to go?" she questioned Jonathan and Lily who nodded in response.

Lily turned to Hestia before they went their separate ways.

"I'll see you in two weeks when we come to pick you up," Lily reminded her as she squeezed her best friend tightly.

"I'll be waiting," Hestia grinned, picking up her trunk before both girls ran through the barrier together.

Hestia looked around, checking that Lily's parents were safely out of hearing range. "Is the wicked witch home now too?"

Lily laughed at the irony of the statement. "Yes," she half exclaimed, half grumbled, "She's still family... although I'm sure she'll be gone more often than not with that new boyfriend of hers…"

Hestia hugged her again. "Good luck, and try to keep your sanity until I can come and help you!" she yelled to Lily before she ran to catch-up with her parents.

"The car's out front," Jonathan told Lily as he put an arm around her shoulder and took her trunk from her hand.

Claire took the lead as their small family of three winded their way through the station.

Jonathan lowered his voice so only his daughter could hear. "You're going to need to share that luck with me that Hestia bestowed on you for the time being. The boyfriend is a whale," he whispered to her in a mock-serious tone, causing the auburn-haired witch to burst out in laughter.

Claire turned around to them just as they reached the car, having heard the whole thing. "He is not that bad, Jon. Don't put anything into her head before she meets the whale- I mean Vernon," she lectured him half-heartedly before she climbed into the passenger seat.

"Busted," Lily teased her father, who in turn stuck his tongue out at her after he closed the trunk of the car.

Her eyes lingered for a moment on the Station before she too climbed into the car. She looked out her window as her dad waited for an opening to pull out into the busy street. Her eyes focused on two dark haired boys following a grey-haired lady into a black SUV across the way. The woman was smiling at both of the boys widely as they passed the driver their trunks and then proceeded to climb into the car. The dark raven-haired boy climbed into the car last, his eyes catching her gaze just as he was about to shut the door. He nodded in her direction just as the driver climbed in his car at the same time her own car pulled out into the street.

* * *

><p>"Is that her?"<p>

James tore his eyes away from the car that drove her away down Euston Road.

"What?" he stuttered, turning to face his mum who was sitting on the seat across from him in the Ministry car as it pulled away from the curb to join the stream of heavy traffic outside of Kings Cross.

"The girl in the care that you were just watching," Emma Potter chuckled, "Is that her?"

"Did she have long auburn-hair and fair skin and a smile that just lights up?" Sirius questioned teasingly from beside him.

Emma laughed at the boy.

"That was Lily," James said fondly, but shook his head afterwards recalling the events that had taken place over the past few days.

Sirius continued to chuckle at his friend as he watched the traffic speed by.

"Where's Mr. P?"

Emma looked at the boys, taking notice of his change of conversation but decided to let it slide. "He's doing some extra work for the office," she told them, smiling slightly. "Not sure where in the world he is," she added, "But the minister wanted him back in the field with all the stuff that's been going on…"

She looked across at the two boys, whose demeanor had changed with her last statement. "But," she added, a brighter smile flashing across her face. "I got this today," she noted, holding up the official ministry letter that she had gripped in her left hand, "He will be home tonight."

James and Sirius both smiled at the news before they promptly fell asleep for the remainder of the ride homes. They awoke suddenly a few hours later when the car jerked as it rolled over the potholes that signaled the drive that led up towards the Potter's countryside home.

"Knew that would wake you," Emma teased, gathering up her bag and her papers, which she had spread out across the seat.

James stuck his tongue out at her before sliding out of the back seat, following Sirius to the back of the car to collect their trunks from the driver who gave both of them a curt nod before getting back in the car and driving back down the roadway.

The moment he set foot inside the foyer, he felt better than he had in days—he was finally home. Through the living room straight ahead he could just make out their Quidditch clearing through the open French doors. He and Sirius both turned to one another grinning, ready to throw open their trunks to grab their brooms and head off to play when his mother came back to the foyer.

"Your stuff isn't going to move itself," she told them as she strode through the foyer, winking at her sons.

"Yeah, yeah," they both grumbled, picking their stuff back up and strolling down the east corridor to the stairs.

James looked around the manor, with its sweeping staircase and granite floors; the tall ceilings and portraits that lined the walls. He remembered all the times that he would slide down the staircase railings when he was young and run straight into his mother's or father's arms when they came home from a mission. He laughed to himself, when they were finally upstairs, and he thought of all the shoe marks that he and Sirius had to clean over the past few summer's when they would come in from the Quidditch pitch tracking the mud all through the house.

The boys raced down the long hallway towards their rooms on the west-end of the house. James won the race naturally as his door came before Sirius', which was the very last room on the left. They quickly threw their trunks in front of their respective wardrobes before grabbing their brooms and racing back to the stairs, through the main floor and across the back lawn where they speedily mounted their brooms and took off.

* * *

><p><em>All recognizable J.K. Rowling content is fully hers and I take no credit for it. *Has been rewritten, events that havedid occur in the original story will occur again but not as soon as they first did! :) _


	2. Changes

"It's good to have you home," Jonathan told her, placing her trunk at the end of her bed.

"Thanks dad," Lily smiled at him as she sat down on the floor to open her trunk and start unpacking some of her belongings. Her father smiled back at her before he crossed the landing to head back downstairs.

She pulled her muggle clothes out of her trunk, placing them in the wardrobe in the corner of her room. Her room was her favourite place in the house, her walls were a light olive green, just like her father's had been when he was younger. She had a light gray carpet that she used to roll around on when she was young because of the softness of it. The room itself wasn't large at all, but it was home—the one place that perfectly combined both parts of her: the muggle and the magical. A desk sat on the same wall as her bedroom door and it had a bulletin board above it with the Hogwarts crest pinned neatly to the middle of it whilst her tie from first year was draped neatly around it. Her bed sat perfectly made in the center of the adjoining wall and on the bedside table next to it, were many of her favourite moving and non-moving photos. She found herself wandering towards her window that lay opposite her desk, running her fingers along the wood of the dresser that sat beneath it as she looked out towards the river that divided the Cokesworth neighborhood that she grew up in.

Lily stood there for a moment after pushing her dresser drawers closed. Across the river she could see the light flicker on in his bedroom. Her eyes glanced down at the carvings she had made in the windowsill all those years ago. Her hand instinctively reaching towards the flashlight that sat on the corner of her dresser but she stopped midway when she remembered what happened just yesterday.

"You just got back, can't you just be here for a while?" a voice asked sadly from the door.

Lily spun around to see her sister standing cross-armed in the doorway. Lily smiled before moving across the room to give her sister a hug. Petunia was taken aback at the sudden gesture but eventually moved to wrap her arms around her sister briefly.

"Mum wants you to come downstairs for dinner," Petunia told her, a little bit of the bitterness that Lily was accustomed to, coming through in her voice.

Lily nodded, closing her door behind her as she followed the older girl down the stairs.

"How is he?" Lily asked hesitantly, trying to make the small talk the sisters were accustomed to.

"Vernon is doing very well," the brunette bragged as the two trudged through the living room into the kitchen. "Just started at his new firm on Tuesday actually, they make drills," she continued as if it was the most thrilling thing in the world.

Lily sat down in her chair at the table, chuckling a little when she caught sight of her dad rolling his eyes at the bit about the Drill Company.

The doorbell rang just as Claire finished putting the final dishes down on the table. Lily moved to get up, but sat back down as she saw the blur of her sister rush by.

"Did you know he was coming?" Jonathan asked Claire, who shook her head and moved to add an extra chair to their already jammed packed table.

The three Evans' sat in silence as they eavesdropped on the conversation going on in the front foyer.

"Does she always sound so…lovey?" Lily questioned, laughing as she reached for the salad tongs, dishing some out onto her plate.

"Lily!" Claire exclaimed, laughing. "It is different around him though, isn't it?" She shook her head a little, showing her distaste for the new persona her eldest daughter had taken on around her new beau.

"Here they come…" Jonathan warned them under his breath as the couple came into sight. He stood up as Vernon came into the kitchen, followed closely by his eldest daughter. He shook the younger man's hand before sitting back down.

Claire smiled at Vernon Dursley, greeting him by passing him a plate.

"Is this her?" Vernon asked Petunia who nodded. Vernon moved to extend his hand to Lily across the table, who shook it tentatively.

"It's nice to meet you," Lily told him, smiling.

Vernon just nodded gruffly in return before taking his seat and piling various foods onto his own plate.

Lily looked to her dad who shrugged sympathetically before digging into his own meal.

* * *

><p>She sat there, staring at the drive, waiting patiently as she had been all morning. Her mum came down the stairs, trying to avoid her daughter as she did.<p>

"She'll be here soon enough, is all of your stuff packed?" Claire asked her, brushing through her daughter's hair as she passed by.

Lily smiled at her mum, "Almost done," she informed her.

"Good," Claire exclaimed, "We're leaving just after lunch, ok?"

Lily nodded enthusiastically.

"I think she's here," Claire told her, after looking past her daughter's head, out the window to where their friends' car pulled up.

Lily's head turned quickly, spotting the car. She grinned at her mother before hopping off the stairs, throwing the door open and running through the front garden to where Hestia was climbing out of the door of her parent's car.

"Hest!" she exclaimed, jumping into the brunette's arms. The two girls jumped, hugging and spinning in circles as they reunited.

"It's like they've been apart for years," Hestia's mum, Susan, commented to Claire who was shaking her head at their daughter's antics.

"Two weeks is a long time when they are together almost everyday of the school year," Claire attested before turning to give her own friend a hug. "We will make sure she returns to you in one piece," she told Susan, smiling.

"We will see you in a month," Susan told her daughter before giving both the Evans a hug and climbing back into her car.

"It is so good to see you!" Hestia exclaimed to Lily as the two girls gathered up Hestia's belongings before following Claire back inside. "This," Hestia declared as soon as they got through the door and the smell of biscuits wafted towards her, "Is why I love coming to your house, and going away with you family, and generally being around you all in general!"

Lily shook her head at her best friend before the two placed Hestia's stuff with the rest of the family's luggage by the front door before they wandered up stairs to her room.

Hestia stopped at the landing, looking towards the two doors that sat side by side across from the stairs. "Is she here?" Hestia mouthed to Lily who peeked into the slightly ajar door before turning to nod her head and step into her own room.

"Perfectly tidy as always," Hestia grinned as she observed Lily's room.

"What are you looking at?" Lily asked, taking notice of Hestia's intense stare out her bedroom window.

"Just checking to see if a certain someone across the way is home," Hestia chimed teasingly, not taking her eyes away from the house. "Nope not home," she confirmed, to which Lily sighed in relief, but she had spoken too soon, "But then again, why would he be home when he can sit on your back lawn by the riverbank?" she continued on, her voice dropping slightly.

"He's what!?" Lily gasped, jumping off her bed to join Hestia at the window. The sight of him, sitting there like he had so many times before angered her immensely.

"Do you want me to go set him straight?"

"As much as I appreciate that," Lily sighed, smiling at her friend, "I don't think you'll make him go away, you're just not that intimidating."

Hestia feigned hurt but ended up laughing instead at the truth of her friend's statement. The two friends stopped their laughter when Lily's door flung open suddenly. Petunia stood there angrily, her arms crossed across her chest and her lips pursed tightly.

"Why is _he_ sitting in our backyard?" she grumbled, her voice clearly expressing her disgust.

"Because he doesn't understand it when I tell him that I no longer want to be friends with him," Lily groaned.

"They had a falling out at school, no longer friends, he's stocking her," Hestia explained simply.

"Took long enough," Petunia exclaimed, stomping into Lily's room to join the two girls in looking out the window. "So, are you going to send him off or should I?"

Lily shuttered at the thought of her sister sending Snape off. "I'll go," Lily relented, frowning and huffing as she walked out of her room. About halfway down the stairs she changed her mind, deciding to go back to her room and just wait it out but Hestia and Petunia were blocking the stair. "I'm going, I'm going," she groaned, storming back down the stairs.

"What is with all the stomping around?" Claire questioned her as she bustled around the kitchen.

"Severus is sitting in the backyard," Lily said coldly.

Claire sensed her daughter's tone, knowing that it only came about if something quite serious was going on. "I don't know what happened between the two of you," Claire told her softly, "But I do know that you wouldn't be this angry if something serious didn't happen. I just want you to be kinder than you feel with him… he was a very good friend to you for many years. He may not be a worthy friend any longer, but he was, so if you are ending it, end it kindly."

Her temper calmed a little at her mother's words, no matter how much she didn't wish she were right. She took a deep breath before opening the terrace door and moving swiftly across the lawn towards the riverbank. She stopped just at the end of their lot, where their lawn met the park property.

"You can't be here," she said, exhausted.

Severus Snape turned around to face her, scrambling to his feet, his face lighting up despite her fierce expression.

"Lily, I'm sorry I-"

"I don't want to hear it!" she said loudly.

"But he made me say it!"

"He didn't make you do anything!"

"He put me in a compromising position, Lily!"

"Potter wasn't doing anything to you that he hasn't done before," she yelled, "Nothing about that situation was different, except for you!"

"I didn't mean to though!"

"You may not have meant to Severus," she sighed, "But you still called me a mudblood. You call everyone else like me a mudblood, why am I any different?"

"Because you're my best friend, Lily," he pleaded.

"Best friends don't degrade each other, Severus. They just don't. If I was really your best friend and you cared that much about me, that ugly, despicable degrading word wouldn't have even been in your vocabulary!"

"I wasn't thinking at the time, Lily! Those idiots were bullying me! They were using me for their own amusement, that messes up your mind!"

"Don't you think I realize that? Don't you think that that is why I was trying to make them stop? Trying to make them leave you alone so you wouldn't be subjected to that for a moment longer!"

"I didn't need your help!"

"You made that perfectly clear."

"They make fun of me more because you always step in to try to save me! Haven't you noticed that?"

"I was being your friend! Friends stick up for each other! And I didn't notice that, and I'm sorry for that but that's because I have never cared what they thought of me. They weren't worth my time and effort!"

"But everyone else cares what they think, Lily! Everyone else rallies around them!"

"So what? We can't control what other people do, who they chose to follow and who they don't. We make our own decisions, Severus! You made your own choices and I made mine…"

"But, Lily-"

"There is always that 'but' Severus. You have chosen to be like those guys you call friends. You have chosen to follow that psychotic maniac who is trying to rid the world of people like me. You have chosen whom you want to support in this war and I can't standby and watch you do this. I don't believe in what Voldemort and his band of goonies are fighting for. I believe that everyone has equal rights in our world that we all deserve to be given a magical education if we possess the abilities to get admitted to Hogwarts in the first place. I believe in the good Severus, and you just don't anymore, and I can't be friends with you any longer because of that. You can call Potter and Black and co egotistical and bullies but they aren't throwing people like me under the bus because they are scared that they might be killed for going against that… Snake," she told him, before turning and walking back towards the house.

"Lily!"

"Do you realize that not once since it happened have you apologized for actually calling me a Mudblood?" she sighed, turning to face him once again.

"I'm sorry for calling you a mudblood, Lily," he told her sincerely.

"I'm sorry too, but it doesn't change anything."

He stood there, watching her as she slipped back into her house where her mother would undoubtedly be waiting for her with a cup of tea, waiting to talk until her father would come home and they would all pile in the car and go away for the half the summer. She was leaving him behind.

Lily fell back against the door.

"Lils," Hestia sighed, getting up from the table and running to her gathering her up in a hug.

Lily hugged her back tightly, letting it all out before they both walked back to the table where Mrs. Evans sat smiling with tea ready for the both of them.

"I'm good, really," Lily told them when they wouldn't stop staring at her.

"Just think about the coast and our favourite café," Hestia reminded her, trying to bring her friend to a happier place. "I told my mum to send my owl as soon as she could so we can get in touch with Remus when we are down there."

"Oh good, I had almost forgotten," Lily laughed, finishing her tea.

"Lily, your father should be home any moment, and Vernon will arrive shortly after that so you should go make sure you have all your stuff," Claire instructed the both of them, gathering their teacups up before proceeding to quickly wash them out in the sink.

"Ok," Lily grinned, happily hopping out of her seat and dragging Hestia back upstairs where they grabbed Lily's suitcase and both of their wands.

"You're not bringing those," Petunia growled when the girls came out of Lily's room with their wands in their back pockets.

Lily groaned.

"I'll tell mum," Petunia told them as she tried to prevent them from going down the stairs.

Hestia and Lily just stared at her, which pushed the older girl over the edge. They watched as she turned, stomping down the stairs.

"I thought she was actually getting past it all," Lily admitted to Hestia when they finally headed down the stairs themselves.

"But, but he will see them and start asking questions!" they heard Petunia shriek at Claire. "They are going to cost me my relationship with Vernon with those things!"

"Petunia, they will do nothing of the sort," Claire tried to assure her. "They have always been allowed to have their wands with them when we have gone down, regardless of the fact that they are not allowed to use them. I am not going to make them keep them here while we go away, and you shouldn't expect them to either. Now I know it is your wish to not tell Vernon about your sister and we respect your decision, but she is not going to change who she is, just like we don't expect you to change who you are. So now that that is settled, please go make sure you have everything so we can go as soon as they both get here," Claire said, ushering Petunia back up the stairs.

She glared at Lily and Hestia as she passed them in the front hall where they had been eavesdropping, both a little disgruntled by Petunia's reaction to them.

"She'll come around eventually, sweetheart," Claire assured her youngest daughter, giving both her and Hestia a hug.

"No she won't," Lily told her truthfully, "But it's ok. I just want her to be happy with her life, even if that doesn't include me and my freakishness."

"Lily, you are not a freak," Claire said firmly, just as Jonathan came through the front door.

His eyes scanned the room in front of him- his wife with a comforting arm around their youngest girl and Lily's best friend rubbing her arm in a similar motion. "What did she say now?" he sighed, placing his briefcase on the stairs.

"It's nothing," Lily told him, smiling and trying to shake it all off and moving to grab some of the luggage that was compiled near the door, grabbing the keys from her father before she went towards the road to load it all in.

Hestia followed her, loading her own arms up before greeting Mr. Evans as she too walked out the door.

"She's just afraid Vernon's going to find out about Lily and Hestia because they are bringing their wands with them as per usual," Claire informed her husband after he moved to give her a quick kiss.

"Right then," he said, shaking his head, "I'm just going to go upstairs and change. I'll bring her down."

"Don't bother Jon. Petunia," Claire called up the stairs, "Vernon's arrived! Bring your stuff down now!"

* * *

><p>"That was the most awkward car-ride of my life, and I don't go in a car unless we're going to a muggle place," Hestia told her as they placed their bags down on their beds.<p>

"I don't think it helped that he took up half the seat by himself," Lily giggled.

"Good thing there was enough room to slide some stuff around in the back so we could pop the extra seats up," Hestia laughed, slipping on her bathing suit.

"And to think dad didn't understand why mum wanted us to get the bigger car," Lily laughed as she finished tying her bikini around her neck.

They grabbed towels, tying them around their waists before they ran through the cottage, yelling to Lily's parents that they were headed down to the beach.

The heritage coast, in Lily's mind was the second most beautiful place in the world, next to Hogwarts of course. Their cottage was situated just a little ways out of the nearby town, a bike ride away from Lily and Hestia's favourite café that they often frequented during their month stay.

The girls both grabbed their bikes from the shed, hopping on to make the short ride to the beach. They burst out laughing when they caught sight of Vernon in his swim trunks, Petunia holding his hand on their own stroll to the beach.

The water was freezing when the girls first ran in, but they went further into it anyways. They shrieked and laughed every time they tried to jump a wave, or body surf in one. The sound of their laughter only grew when the whale and Lily's sister came out into the water, both outwardly expressing their dislike of the freezing water. Lily and Hestia waded in the water for a long while, talking about life and school as they watched people roaming around the beach.

"Hestia!" Lily shrieked suddenly when she caught sight of her sandy-haired boy wandering along the seashore. "I think I see Remus!"

Hestia's eyes darted towards the shore where she too saw the boy. The girls grinned widely at one another before they swam hastily towards the shore until the water was shallow enough for them to be able to stand and run towards him.

All he heard was, 'Remus' shouted loudly from behind him before he was tackled into the sand by two wet bodies. When he rolled over, he saw the two girls covered in sand, laughing beside him.

"Hey," they both said once they had gone back into the sea to wash the sand off.

"Sorry about that," Lily apologized, smiling at him.

"Nah, don't be sorry," he chuckled. "I didn't think I'd run into you, or should I say you run into me quite so soon. We just got here…"

"So did we!" Hestia confessed.

"That's just-"

"Kind of a weird coincidence," Lily suggested to which Remus nodded.

"We were going to go into town, if you want to come?" Hestia asked him as they dried off.

Remus shrugged, "Why not?" he grinned.

"Perfect," Hestia exclaimed, "Our bikes are this way."

* * *

><p>The summer passed by quickly for Lily after that. They met up with Remus almost everyday they were there, except for a few days towards the end of the month when his mum fell ill and he had to stay in with her. On those days it rained quite a bit, keeping the girls inside with Lily's family playing board games and doing puzzles while Petunia sent angry glares their way.<p>

When they finally returned home, Hestia ended up staying with the Evans for an extra couple of weeks because her parents had to jet off to do some work for the ministry that Hestia wasn't allowed to know about.

* * *

><p>"Lily, hurry up! They're going to kill us if we are even a minute late!" Hestia yelled from the bottom of the stairs.<p>

"I'm coming," Lily laughed, grabbing her bag off the bed. She ran downstairs to find her mum and Hestia waiting with the front door already open.

"Good, let's go," Claire grinned, shooing the two girls out the door. "Petunia, we will be back in time for dinner, Vernon is welcome to join us!"

"Ok!" was all Claire heard.

The two-hour drive to London passed by quickly as the three woman chatted about the girls adventures, something they had been unable to do until this point out of fear of upsetting Petunia.

"We're meeting them at the Leaky Cauldron right?" Claire questioned them as they drove down one of London's many side streets.

"Yes, everyone else will be flooing in, in about twenty minutes," Hestia told her after glancing down at her watch just as Mrs. Evans pulled into a parking space.

The girls jumped out of the car as soon as Claire pulled into the space. She shook her head before she rushed out after them, trying to catch up before they went into the pub without her.

"Girls! I need to come in with you!" she chuckled, yelling at them from across the street.

The girls turned around, laughing before they grabbed a hold of Claire's arms dragging her through the door to the pub. The pub was as dingy as ever which made the girls feel immediately at ease.

"Hey Tom," Lily greeted the bartender with a smile.

"Hey Lily," he greeted her back, "And Hestia, always good to see you both."

"You as well!"

"Are you wanting a drink or just waiting for some others to come through?" he asked them as he cleaned a couple of glasses.

"We're just waiting for the girls," Lily sighed.

"I don't think you have to wait anymore, looks like they just arrived," Tom told them, nodding towards the fireplace where some people had just come tumbling out of.

The girls thanked him quickly before they ran towards their friends. Lily and Hestia took the girls by surprise, tackling them from behind as their mums all watched on, laughing at their antics.

"Where to first?" Marlene's mum asked, glancing over the list she had gripped in her hand.

"Flourish and Blotts!" Lily suggested excitedly making the rest of them laugh.

"Oh Lily, you haven't changed a bit," Marlene grinned as they took off towards the bookstore.

The girls quickly rummaged through the shelves; pulling off the books they needed before passing them off to their mums. Lily's mum raised her eyebrows at her daughter when she noticed her pile was a little higher than everyone else's but Lily just grinned, shrugging as she did before the girls pulled her out of the store.

"So how was France, Marlene? Was it everything you hoped it would be?" Lily teased the blonde.

"It was, oh I can't even explain," Marlene sighed contently, "The boys were everything I expected and more. I envy the girls who get to go to Beauxbatons with them…"

"You met the Beauxbatons boys?" Hestia gasped.

"I didn't go for just the muggle ones," Marlene grinned mischievously.

"And you say that I haven't changed a bit," Lily teased.

"How was your summer, Alice?" Hestia asked gleefully.

The brunette grinned. "It was a lot of fun," she told them truthfully, "I was at my cousins house for most of the summer. They are a real hoot, always playing pranks on my aunt. I'm surprised she hasn't passed away from fright yet."

"Fabian and Gideon?" Lily questioned.

"Those would be the ones! Although they were gone for a couple of weeks at some points," she admitted, "But I got to help Molly with her kids, she is having another one any day now."

"How many does she have?" Hestia asked.

"Three soon…there is Bill who is six and Charlie who is 4 and then she'll have whatever this next one is…"

"It'll be a boy," Marlene told her knowingly, the girls turned and stared. "All the Weasley's are boys, it's just a fact!"

The girls shrugged.

"How were both of your summers?" Alice asked turning to Lily and Hestia.

"The cottage was great!" Lily exclaimed.

"We found Remus on the beach on the first day and hung out with him everyday after that," Hestia explained. "I've been staying with Lily for practically the whole summer now though."

"Why?" Marlene questioned seriously.

"My parents were called away for work," the brunette shrugged sadly.

Marlene hugged her friend tightly.

"They work for the ministry, everyone who works there is getting called away it seems," Marlene told her comfortingly, "That's why I was in France for the most part. My parents didn't want me to be at home alone if they weren't going to be there all the time."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Hestia cried.

"I don't like to talk about it because it frightens me each time they go," Marlene admitted tearfully. "But Hestia, they always come back," she told her with a small smile.

"I know," Hestia told her softly, smiling back.

"Are you girls ready to go to the next shop?" Alice's mum asked them when they finally reemerged from the store.

Claire saw the girl's faces, in particular Hestia's and muttered something to Marlene's mum who nodded in understanding. She pulled out some coins and placed them in her daughters' hand, Mrs. Prewett and Claire following suit. Claire gave the two girls a slight smile when they looked up at her in confusion.

"We will go finish getting all the supplies," Mrs. McKinnon told them, "Why don't you girls wander around and maybe get some ice cream while you still have the chance?"

"Ok," Marlene exclaimed excitedly, grabbing a hold of Hestia's arm and running off down the Alley towards the ice cream parlor.

Alice and Lily both waved goodbye to their mums before following behind, albeit at a much slower pace.

"Peter?" Alice called questioningly after they had been walking for a few minutes.

Lily's eyes scanned the crowds of people for the short boy, eventually spotting him gazing at the window display of the Quidditch Supplies shop. Alice grabbed ahold of her arm when the boy turned around, confused, having not spotted who was calling him. A feeling of relief passed over him when he saw the two girls strolling towards him, smiling.

"Hey Lily! Alice!" he greeted them, accepting their hugs.

"Peter what are you doing wandering around by yourself?" Lily asked.

"Never mind that," Alice chided before he could answer, "How was your summer?"

"Nothing too thrilling but relaxing all the same," he told them wistfully, "Mum didn't want me going out too much, this is really the first time all summer that I've seen anyone from school at all."

"We will have to change that next summer," Lily suggested kindly, "I know first-hand how dreadful a summer can be to be without your friends…"

Peter smiled at her just as some people filed out from the store behind them.

"Evans and Prewett what a lovely surprise," Sirius Black sang as he flung his arms around both their shoulders much to their discontent.

"Black," Lily and Alice greeted him.

"Lily, Alice what a pleasant surprise," Remus said, smiling widely as he leaned down and hugged them both. The girls reciprocated his smile as they greeted him, asking about the rest of his summer.

"Well after we got back from the coast I was asked to go to James' house for the remainder of the summer, so I've been there ever since," he told them, grinning.

"Where is James?" Alice asked, looking around.

"He had to go get fitted for new robes, so we've been looking around until he comes back," Sirius shrugged. "What are you two doing? Seeing as you don't have any of your school stuff in hand which would suggest that you were actually shopping as opposed to wandering aimlessly. Were you looking for us?" he questioned them, wriggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Our mums are getting everything so they sent us to go get ice cream," Alice stated simply.

"We were following Marls and Hestia when we saw Peter," Lily added, smiling at the shorter boy.

"Mmm ice cream," Peter sighed, his stomach rumbling for all to hear.

"Would you like to join us?" Lily asked them kindly.

Peter nodded enthusiastically, immediately falling into step with Lily and Alice as they continued on winding their way through the alley. Sirius and Remus stayed back for a moment, scanning the crowds for James but when they found that he was still nowhere in sight they rushed to catch up to the others figuring James would find where they were eventually.

* * *

><p>"You actually convinced these two stubborn bookworms to pull an actual prank this summer?" Sirius asked his jaw dropped.<p>

"We resent that statement," Lily laughed speaking for herself and Hestia, as she tried to keep the ice cream from dripping down the side of her cone.

"They deserved what they had coming to us is all I have to say," Hestia grinned.

The group all laughed at this.

"So what exactly did you guys do?" Alice questioned.

"It can't have been anything too excessive since none of you can perform magic outside of school…" Marlene commented.

"It may or may not have had something to do with sand dunes and glue… lots and lots of glue," Lily laughed at the memory.

Alice, Marlene, Peter and Sirius' faces dropped at the revelation, causing the other three to burst out in laughter.

"What's so funny?" a voice piped up from behind them.

Lily, Hestia and Remus turned to find James Potter starring at them quizzically.

"They pranked Lily's sister and her boyfriend over the summer!" Sirius exclaimed suddenly, making everyone except James burst out in laughter once again.

James shook his head at the group of them as he pulled up a seat across the table from Lily and Remus.

"How did you manage to do that?" James asked, thoroughly interested by how the two most studious girls he knows managed to pull something so hilarious off.

"Let's just say there was a distraction, a sunscreen bottle and super sticky glue involved," Hestia giggled.

"The whale likes to heavily apply sunscreen to my sister," Lily shudders, before continuing, "And himself, so they didn't know the difference between the glue and the sunscreen because it looks white either way when you apply it the way they do!"

"How did they figure it out?" Peter laughed.

Remus burst out laughing. "They were doing their own version of snogging in the sand!"

"What?" Alice cried from laughter.

Hestia and Remus laughed loudly before Hestia explained exactly what happened at the beach. "Lily's sister and her boyfriend were snogging in the sand dunes just a little ways a way from the cottage," she explained, "Their screams when they realized the sand was sticking to them… everywhere…"

"Mum wasn't all too impressed," Lily admitted, blushing, "But dad let us borrow the car to go out for the evening so they would have time to cool off."

"It was a necessary get-away," Remus chuckled after the rest of the group calmed down their laughter.

"So does this mean you girls will be willing to get involved in some of our pranks this upcoming year?" Sirius asked the four girls who were looking at one another questioningly.

Alice spoke for the girls, a mischievous grin gracing her face. "We will be willing to consider so long as Lily's prefect ship is not placed in jeopardy," she argued.

Lily smiled at the added comment, mouthing a 'thank-you' to her friend.

"Remus is a prefect too and he hasn't had his role placed in jeopardy," Peter chimed.

"But Lily's never gotten a detention, and Remus has," Hestia reasoned. "I think what we mean to say is that whatever happens we can't jeopardize Lily's record, or mine for that matter."

"One detention wouldn't be an absolute 'no'," Lily mumbled quietly.

The girls turned, looking at their auburn-haired friend with their jaws dropped.

"Lily!" Marlene gasped, smiling. "I was wrong, you have changed. My little rebel!" she shrieked, jumping out of her chair to run and hug her friend.

"What just happened?" James asked as the boys watched the girls freak out and Lily's blush deepen significantly as she felt more and more uncomfortable with the attention she was receiving.

"Lily just said that she would be ok getting a detention if the girls were involved in a prank," Sirius explained slowly, still trying to process what the good girl of their group just said.

James, Peter, Remus and Sirius just stared in disbelief at Lily who was refusing to make eye contact with anyone though they could all see the small smile tugging at her lips.

"Lily! Hestia! It's time to go girls," Claire called, walking towards the girls. She smiled down at both of them, before turning to Alice and Hestia. "Your mum is dealing with some stuff at the bank, she said that she will meet you both back at the Leaky Cauldron in fifteen minutes," she told them, smiling softly.

"Mum, you remember Remus," Lily reminded her mum, nodding towards Remus who extended his hand towards the woman who smiled graciously back at him.

"It's good to see you again, Remus," Claire greeted.

"And this is Sirius, James and Peter," Hestia said, introducing the other three boys.

Claire's eyes lingered on James a little longer than the rest, smiling slightly as she recalled the numerous times his name had been mentioned in conversations about Hogwarts with Lily over the past few summers.

"It's nice to finally put names to the faces," Claire smiled at them, before turning once again towards the girls. "Are you ready?"

Lily and Hestia nodded, getting up and waving at their friends once they had reminded Alice and Marlene where to meet them on the platform in two weeks.

"So that was Lily's mum?" James asked Alice and Marlene.

Marlene looked at him suspiciously.

"That's Claire," Alice told him after a few moments.

"Why do you care?" Marlene questioned.

"Because her mum is-" Sirius started.

Remus hit him over the head. "Do not finish that sentence Padfoot," he warned.

"Do you ever have, I don't know… normal thoughts? Ones that don't sexualize every female you lay your eyes on?" Marlene questioned him angrily.

"Claire is really nice, Lily's a lot like her except that she can't make pastries quite as good as her mum, no matter how hard she tries," Alice interrupted trying to prevent Marlene's anger from spiking too much.

"Evans bakes?" Sirius mocked. "Do you think she'd become my professional baker if I paid her to?"

Marlene rolled her eyes, "Just when I thought maybe you both had changed you go back to making fun of people," she grumbled, standing up and dragging Alice with her.

"How did that escalate so quickly?" Peter asked sheepishly.

Alice shrugged. "He, well both of you," she explained, eying both James and Sirius, "Have been picking on people since the first ride on the train… it doesn't take much anymore to realize where your comments are headed."

"I didn't even say anything!" James protested.

"You're guilty by association with that mongrel," Marlene accused.

Sirius grinned widely. "Mongrel eh?"

"If the shoe fits," Marlene smirked.

"Care to test that theory?" he asked her.

"Merlin you're incorrigible! Let's go Alice!" Marlene shouted, before the two girls stalked away.

"All I can say Prongs," Remus commented after the girls had left and James and Peter both continued to look immensely confused, "you are lucky Lily wasn't there or else your whole plan to show her the better side of you would have been in flames before it even began."

* * *

><p>"Who is that with Lily? She looks like she's consistently about to sneeze," James questioned as he and Sirius scanned the crowded platform, their eyes landing on where Lily was bidding her family goodbye.<p>

"Is there ever going to be a day where you aren't tracking her every movement?" Marlene questioned the boys, coming up behind the boys, making them jump.

"Tracking? Tracking who?" James stuttered, trying to cover up.

"You're a horrible liar, Potter," Marlene noted.

"We saw already," Alice piped in. "And that girl is her sister, Petunia. Lily's mum and dad make her come with them every year to drop Lily off."

"She looks frightened," James commented.

Sirius turned towards his best mate with a mischievous grin. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Always," James answered with an equally mischievous grin.

The two girls made to stop them but the two boys had already jumped off of the step of the train, back onto the platform.

"Hey Marlene, Alice!" Peter and Remus called out to them, walking towards the door of the train. "Have either of you seen James and Sirius? They're supposed to be here by now…"

"Your idiot friends are going to go prank Lily's sister," Marlene told them furiously as both hers and Alice's eyes continued to follow James and Sirius' retreating forms as they rounded the back of the crowd.

"Well it was fun while it lasted," Peter sighed, knowing full well what this prank would do to the little progress the boys had made in befriending Lily and Hestia this summer.

The four new sixth year Gryffindor's watched in anticipation as Lily moved to say goodbye to her sister at the same time as Sirius and James set their plan into place. Just as Lily pulled out of the brief hug she was giving her sister, her sister sprouted petunia's all over her body.

Marlene and Alice winced as they saw Petunia's expression change drastically and as her eyes narrowed in on Lily whose face had dropped at the sight.

"What did you do to me…YOU FREAK?" they could hear Petunia shriek. "I'm supposed to be meeting Vernon's sister for tea!"

"It wasn't me!" Lily cried, tears actually forming in her eyes as her sister continued to lash out at her despite their parent's protests.

"Petunia, calm down, sweetheart," Claire told her eldest softly, trying to calm her down. "Lily will fix it," she said, looking to her youngest hopefully.

"I can fix it, Tuney, please," Lily begged.

"No, get away from me, Freak! You did this in the first place!"

"I didn't, I swear I didn't!" Lily admitted, "I don't even have my wand on me. I couldn't have done this to you! I can fix it though, if you just let me. Please!"

"Just get away! Get on that stupid train and go away. Go be with your people and let us normal people just be! Just leave me alone!" Petunia shrieked before running through the crowd of people who had been watching the whole scene unfold and towards the barrier.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," Jonathan sighed, placing a kiss on her head before darting off after Petunia.

"Don't ever listen to her, sweetheart. Be safe, ok?" Claire smiled, tears evident in her eyes. "We love you, and we are so proud of you! Write soon!" she reminded her before following after Jonathan.

"Mum!" Lily called to her, before she was too far-gone. "St. Mungo's, ask one of the platform attendants where it is. They'll fix it. If not, the spell, whatever it is should wear off soon."

Claire smiled sadly at her daughter before departing.

Lily watched her family's retreating forms until they passed through the barrier and completely disappeared from sight. By the time she turned around, back to her luggage all those who had been looking on had returned to their own business. Marlene rushed off the train towards Lily at the same time Hestia pushed through the crowd towards her. The blonde threw an arm around Lily's shoulder, moving her away from her place and towards the train that was ready to go at any moment. Hestia and Alice grabbed Lily's trunk and book bag from their place on the platform, lugging it onto the train behind the two other girls.

James and Sirius hopped onto the train, a cart away from where the girls had just gotten on.

"What were you two idiots thinking?" Marlene growled at the boys when she saw them down the corridor.

"I should have known it was you, Potter!" Lily shrieked through her sobs. She stormed towards the two boys whose eyes were wide in fear as she approached them. James gulped, his heart aching a little as he saw just how upset she was the closer and closer she got to them. She moved to pull her wand out of her back pocket but it wasn't there. She turned around violently to Alice who was holding her bag where she had stashed her wand that morning. "Give it to me!" she yelled at her.

Alice shook her head. "Lily, let's just go to our compartment ok," she suggested, taking a few hesitant steps forward. "They aren't worth it," she sighed, glaring at James and Sirius who looked as though they had just been saved from a bullet.

Lily nodded in agreement after a few moments walking back towards Alice and Hestia who led her back down the train to where they had stored their own trunks.

"You just set back a summer's worth of progress with Lily and her sister, good luck coming back from that one," Marlene told the two boys before running to catch up with the girls.

"Maybe not our best idea," Sirius admitted, which earned him a slap over the head from James, Remus and Peter who all turned around, walking the opposite way of the girls towards where their own compartment was.

* * *

><p>*<em>Please if you have time review! Also, all recognizable J.K. Rowling content is fully hers and I take no credit for it. <em>


	3. Add that to the List

Lily felt completely at ease the moment she stepped over the castle threshold, flanked by her three best friends and her Prefect badge pinned neatly to her robes. The four girls followed the masses of students up the stairs and into the Great Hall, stopping when they stepped inside to once again admire the beauty of the enchanted ceiling. A soft smile graced her face from that moment forward as she took a seat next to Alice at the Gryffindor table.

They could hear the menaces before they even approached, sliding onto the benches beside the girls. "Hello, ladies," Sirius' smooth voice rang out from beside them.

Hestia shuttered as the handsome dark haired boy swung his arm around her shoulders. She carefully flicked his hand off her shoulder, shifting closer to Marlene as she did, trying to put as much space as possible between her and the boy.

Marlene and Alice both glared at the four boys.

"There was nowhere else to sit," Peter told them hesitantly, completely frightened by the blonde, who although was quite attractive her temper was a force to be reckoned with.

"The floor looks available," Marlene responded coolly before turning to ignore the boys choosing to instead strike up a conversation with Alice.

"There truthfully was nowhere left to sit without taking spaces away from the first-years," Remus admitted quietly to Lily who smiled softly in return.

"I enjoy yours and Peter's company, please don't apologize," she whispered back to him.

"What about me?" Sirius whined, having been eavesdropping on their conversation.

Lily could hear it when multiple people's feet kicked Sirius in the shin, which made her giggle for a few moments as she watched him pout.

"Still didn't answer my question, Lilikins," Sirius continued as if nothing had happened, "Do you not enjoy my company?"

"Lilikins?" Hestia questioned, raising an eyebrow at the boy.

"Quite frankly, Black, I would rather spend time with the blast-ended skrewts than you," Lily told him shortly before turning away from the boy, looking ahead to the front of the hall where the first-years would be gathering any moment.

"At least that was a little nicer than the giant-squid, Padfoot," Peter commented.

"You're all so incredibly daft," Hestia groaned, just as the large oak doors at the other end of the hall creaked open and their head of house lead the first-years, whose eyes were wide with wonder, towards the Staff table.

The girls eavesdropped on the boys as they predicted the house of each first year that sauntered on by, making up absurd reasons as to why they would be placed in a particular house.

"Would you all just shut-up and watch?" Marlene growled at them, whipping her long blonde ponytail around when she spun around to resume watching the sorting.

"What are they doing?" Peter questioned as he watched the girls along with Frank greet a first-year that had just come to sit down at their table.

James shrugged, admiring from afar as Lily smiled brightly at a first-year boy who came and sat next to Marlene. They both watched as the girls and Frank with some input from Remus worked to put the first-years at ease with their new house, only stopping their conversation when they noticed Dumbledore approaching the podium.

"James! James!" Sirius exclaimed, elbowing James' arm to effectively knock it out from beneath his chin.

The be speckled boy sent a vicious glare towards his best-mate before turning attentively to the Headmaster just as he began his start of term speech.

"Welcome, welcome to another year at Hogwarts," Dumbledore began, peeking out at the school over his half-moon spectacles. "And welcome to our new students. I have a few beginning of term announcements to address before we "dig-in" as you young ones say. First off I would like to introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, Professor Cynric. We wish you the best of luck. Quidditch tryouts for all second-years and above for the house teams will begin this coming weekend. Check the bulletin boards in your respective common rooms for times and for postings about Captains. The first Hogsmeade weekend will take place at the beginning of October. Third-years and above are the only ones allowed to attend these outings so long as they have their permission slips signed," he paused when he noticed Sirius getting fidgety. "I'm almost done Mr. Black," he said, his eyes twinkling behind his spectacles, "I have been asked by our caretaker Mr. Filch to remind students to check his office door for the list of banned items and to once again tell you all that magic is not to be used in the corridors. The Forbidden Forrest, is out of bounds to all students, although some of our older students would do well to remember this," he said, eyeing down the Marauders who grinned back at him. "And now all I have to say is book egg pipe!"

* * *

><p>The girls' dormitory was flooded with the morning light by the time the girls finally managed to scramble out from beneath their warm blankets. Lily laughed loudly when Marlene got tangled up in her blankets managing to land on the floor in a heap whilst trying to standup.<p>

"Some things never change," Alice teased, patting Marlene's hair as she passed on her way out of the lavatory.

Marlene glared at the three of them once she had finally slipped out of the blankets and placed them neatly on her bed once again. "Every year," she grumbled, flipping open her trunk to dig out her uniform.

"Ready," Lily announced, as she finished tying a band around the end of her braid and placed her bag on her shoulder.

Hestia shook her head, laughing, finishing making her bed and stashing her books in her bag before moving to join Lily at the door.

"Give me three minutes!" Marlene called to them, rushing into the lavatory as soon as she had finished doing up her tie. "Let's go!" she exclaimed, when she came out five minutes later, her long blonde hair softly curled and her uniform perfectly clean.

The four girls walked down to the Great Hall, still a little sleepy by the time they sat down at the long Gryffindor table in their usual spot. They woke up a little when they noticed the vast amounts of food piled high on the table in front of them.

Alice sighed outwardly. "I miss this food when we're away," she told them merrily, taking a bite of toast as she did.

The other girls giggled at their friend before following suit, just as the four boys came sauntering in.

"You have no excuse today," Marlene told them as they sat down next to the girls. "The rest of the table is practically empty."

"Is it so wrong that we want to sit with our fellow sixth years on the first day of class?" Sirius questioned them.

The girls were at a loss when Hestia spoke up. "It's not wrong, it's just questionable considering you've never taken an interest in sitting with us at meals before last night," she remarked.

"People change," Sirius argued.

The girls all nearly choked.

"That's a good joke," Marlene laughed viciously.

"Ah here you all are," McGonagall sighed, barely looking up from the stack of papers she held as she approached the sixth-years. She quickly passed out the blank timetables to them, moving to each person before setting their final timetable out in front of them after reviewing their O.W.L scores. "Miss. Evans," she muttered, scanning the list ahead of her. "Are you absolutely sure you wish to take on such a demanding course load?"

Lily smiled, nodding her head as the Professor shook hers, extending the parchment towards the girl.

Hestia looked at her friend suspiciously as her grin spread the more she read. "Why is Professor McGonagall so shocked by the courses your taking?" she prodded, making Lily blush nervously.

"No reason, really," Lily shrugged, trying to slip her schedule into her bag without the brunette noticing.

"Nice try," Alice smirked, reaching her hand behind Lily's back to grab the parchment. The small girl's eyes went wide as she reviewed the auburn-haired witch's timetable for the year. "Bloody hell," she gawked at Lily, passing it to their two friends.

"Are you mental?" Marlene asked her, reaching across the table to place a hand on Lily's forehead to check whether or not she was ill.

"Exactly what is going on?" James asked Remus who was closet to Hestia and Marlene who both had Lily's schedule in their grasps.

The sandy-haired boy shrugged before politely asking Hestia for a peak. The brunette smiled, taking the schedule from Marlene and passing it to the boys as they continued to harass Lily.

"I don't see what the big deal is," Lily sighed once the boys had had a chance to read over her schedule.

"Charms, Defense, Astronomy, Herbology, Potions, Transfiguration, History of Magic, Arithmancy, Ancient Runes and Alchemy? Is there even anything left to take?" Peter gasped looking up at the blushing girl.

"I didn't take Divination, Muggle Studies or Care of Magical Creatures," she said happily, hoping that would settle things down. When the others were still openly gawking at her she snatched her schedule back and stuffed it in her bag before turning the conversation over to Peter by asking him about his schedule for the year.

* * *

><p>"Ah, Lily, I hope you had a wonderful summer, Severus is already waiting up front for you," Slughorn greeted Lily as she entered his dungeon classroom ahead of the other Gryffindor sixth years.<p>

"Professor, I was wondering whether I could work with er, Remus this term?" Lily asked him politely, "We had some very insightful discussions about the latest advancements in the field this summer and I would very much like to further those discussions with classwork."

James didn't think that the Professor had ever smiled brighter after Lily had finished asking him for a change in partners. They all watched in anticipation as Slughorn thought over Lily's proposal.

"Lovely Lily, you have given me quite the idea," he announced almost giddily, "Everyone please stand," he ordered the rest of the class for those who had already taken a seat. "First off, welcome sixth years to N.E. level Potions! Miss. Evans has just reminded me of the reason why we gather in this very room twice each week. I will be assigning partners based off of your capabilities in potions. I want to further all of your learning and enthusiasm for the subjects with these partners so without further a due…Mr. Potter, Miss. McKinnon, front left table please. Mr. Lupin and Mr. Snape, front right table. Miss. Jones and Miss. Gawrmdry, behind them. Miss. Prewett and Miss. Rowle across from the girls. Mr. Ellis and Miss. Vembulum, at the back here please. And last but not least, Miss. Evans and Mr. Black at the front table with Mr.'s Lupin and Snape."

The class promptly moved to their assigned benches. Lily pulled out a stool across from Severus, not making eye contact as she did.

"Now who can tell me what this is?" Slughorn asked, pointing towards a potion at the front of the class.

Lily and Severus' hands both shot up.

Slughorn grinned at the sight of two of his top pupils competing with each other once again. "Let's let Miss. Evans take this one," he decided fairly, "Severus, you can have the next one."

Lily got out of her seat, walking towards the front of the class with a knowing smile on her face. She looked closely at the brewed potion before turning with a grin to her Professor. "It's Amortentia, sir," she explained, "Otherwise known as the most powerful love-potion in existence. It is rumored to smell different to everyone. For instance I smell fresh air, the pages of a new book, and a woody scent that I can't quite place. Furthermore the effects of the potion take place almost instantaneously and the person who consumes it will appear pale, sickly, and obsessed with the object of their affection—important things to look for if you suspect someone has taken it. The potion itself can be recognized before consumption by its mother-of-pearl sheen and the distinctive way the steam raises in spirals as is seen here," she added, pointing to the steam patterns with the end of her quill.

Slughorn smiled brilliantly at her as she walked back towards her table. "Excellent, excellent," he exclaimed, clapping his hands together. "Ten points to Gryffindor for Miss. Evans keen understanding of this advanced potion. Very, very good, I expect all of you to be able to recognize potions in a similar manner by the end of the year. Now, if you will open your copies of Advanced Potion Making to the page that lists the ingredients as soon as Mr. Snape tells me what this is," he announced, before holding up a vile of gold coloured-clear liquid.

"Felix Felicis, also known as liquid luck. Consuming this particular potion will result in the user being 'lucky' for a period of twelve hours, during which everything they attempt will be successful," the boy stated matter-of-factly. "It is known to cause giddiness, recklessness, and dangerous over confidence if taken in excess. The potion takes six-months to be brewed successfully and can be disastrous if concocted poorly."

"Very good, five points to Slytherin," Slughorn exclaimed before turning back to the class. "The pair that manages to brew the best Draught of Living Death will be rewarded with this small vile to use accordingly. Warning, specifically to our Quidditch players in this class, this potion cannot be used during games, as it is a direct violation of conduct. You have two-hours, good-luck!"

Lily immediately went into action, pulling out the various potion ingredients and placing them in order before Sirius had even set up the cauldron. She set to work, handing Sirius the ingredients to put in the cauldron as she continued to cut them up in various forms.

He watched her out of the corner of his eye as he followed the instructions of the text, noting how the auburn-haired witch didn't appear to be following a text at all.

"Infusion of Wormwood," she said, passing it to Sirius who has just finished heating up the cauldron. "Powdered root," she said after a few more moments, handing him the ingredient once she had ground it down to her liking, "Ok, stir it twice clockwise," before pulling out the sloth brain and tossing it in.

Sirius looked to the book for the next ingredient. He turned to Lily and his eyes went wide, grabbing the knife from her.

"What are you doing?" she gasped in a low voice, trying not to attract Slughorn or Snape's attention. "You could have cut my hand!"

"You're supposed to cut it," he whispered back to her, trying to cut the bean just to see it whizz out of the way.

"Give it to me, please," she asked, extending her hand.

He placed the bean in her hand and handed her the knife back. Sirius watched closely as she squished the bean beneath the blade, successfully extracting enough juice from it for the potion. "How did you know to do that?" he asked her in amazement.

The witch just shrugged, smiling slightly. She handed him the stir-stick. "Come on, we have to beat him," she whispered to him mischievously. "Anti-clockwise seven times, and then go clockwise one rotation after that," she told him in a low-hushed voice.

Sirius grinned at her after he had finished following her extra instructions, only to see the potion look as clear as it was described in the text. "Incredible," he sighed, smiling widely as he noted that they had finished just moments ahead of Remus and Snape.

"Remarkable indeed," Slughorn said over their shoulders, making them both jump. "Another fifteen points to Gryffindor for this expert example of potion-making seen here by Miss. Evans and Mr. Black. And as promised, your bottle of Felix Felicis," he grinned, passing the bottle over to Lily.

She handed it to Sirius, smiling softly. "Good-job," she told him, before moving to place their work in a vile and cleaning out the cauldron before putting her materials away and walking towards Slughorn where a small-group of students were assembled.

"I can't believe you won," James chuckled when Sirius came walking towards him.

"Why can't you believe it—I'm very good at potions!" Sirius protested jokingly. "But in all seriousness, she didn't even look at the text!"

James and Peter's jaws both dropped, meanwhile the three girls who had been listening in laughed.

James turned around to look at them. "What?"

"We thought you knew everything about Lily," Hestia laughed, placing her book in her bag.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Sirius questioned them.

"Lily's been at the top of the class in potions since first-year. She's brewed these potions before. She and Snape used to brew potions on the weekend for Slughorn when he needed examples for the other years," Marlene explained.

"Is that what they are discussing up there?" Peter asked, looking past the girls to where the small group was still assembled.

"No," Alice stated simply. "I think they're discussing their next meeting… Hestia, why aren't you up there?"

"I told Slughorn I don't have time this term," the brunette explained, "I've offered to help Professor Sprout in my spare time. Herbology has always been more my thing than potions, anyways."

"So we've officially lost two of you to Professors on the weekends?" Marlene groaned, albeit jokingly.

"You haven't lost us," Lily piped up, joining her friends.

"Ready to go?" Hestia asked the girls who all nodded in response. "See you boys in class," she told the boys before the girls headed out of the dungeon classrooms.

* * *

><p>"Up early for Quidditch tryouts, Lilikins?" Sirius called out to her as she walked through the common room early Saturday morning.<p>

"No, Black," she sighed, continuing on towards the portrait hole.

"Are you coming to watch tryouts?" he asked her, running down the corridor to catch up to her.

Lily rolled her eyes when she felt him fall into step next to her. "No, I don't think so."

"Why not?" he asked, pouting as he watched her, walking backwards down the corridor as he did.

"Black, are you going to do this all the way to breakfast?" she asked him, trying to side step around him.

"Maybe," he told her, aiming to annoy. "I just want to know why you aren't going to watch Quidditch tryouts on this beautiful day."

She stopped walking, looking out the nearby window. "If I say that I'll be there will you please leave me alone?" she begged him.

The dark-haired boy grinned and started walking normally when she continued on once again. They both kept glancing at one another as they moved through the castle, wondering why the other one was being so normal. He followed her when they finally arrived in the Great Hall, sitting across from her at the empty Gryffindor table.

Lily looked up at him questioningly as she reached to grab a few pieces of bacon and toast, piling them on her plate.

"What?" he asked, his mouth full of food.

"Nothing," she shrugged, "I just don't know why you're sitting here, or following me though the castle."

"I thought we were friends," he pouted before a grin broke out across his face.

"What now?" she asked after taking a couple of sips of pumpkin juice.

"Oh nothing," Sirius said, nonchalantly.

"Seriously, why are you grinning?" she badgered him.

"Yes, I'm Sirius," the boy stated proudly.

"You're absolutely incorrigible," she sighed.

"I thought I just told you that I was Sirius," he exclaimed.

Lily stifled a laugh as she dished out some eggs onto her plate.

"Why are you up so early?" Remus asked the both of them, taking a seat next to Lily, immediately piling his plate high with food.

"It's Quidditch tryout day!" Sirius exclaimed loudly, causing the rest of those sitting in the Great Hall to turn and stare in their direction.

"Right," Remus nodded before turning to look at his friend. "Lily?"

"I wanted to go to the library and get a start on my work," she told him, not looking up from her food.

"Evans, it's a Saturday! The first Saturday back, we don't even have that much work!" Sirius groaned just as James and Peter came to take a seat at the table.

"You can't do work on a Saturday, Evans, especially not Gryffindor tryout day," James exclaimed loudly.

"Not that I care much about what you think, Potter," Lily spat, standing up, "But for your information not everyone's worlds revolve around Quidditch. Besides, and this is for you Black, we have enough work ahead with our N.E. courses to be able to justify going to the library on a Saturday," she added before saying goodbye to Peter and Remus before grabbing a muffin and walking haughtily out of the hall.

Remus and Peter looked at both of their friends, astounded.

"What?" James asked, noting his friends' expressions.

"For someone who desperately wants a girl to like him, you treat her quite poorly," Peter commented.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sirius interjected.

"Prongs, if you want Lily to like you, you have got to stop bugging her about the things she cares about," Remus explained. "She wants to do well. She feels as though she has to prove herself."

"So?"

"So," Remus continued, "That means that she will willing give up her free time to do extra work to get ahead, to understand the material so she can be as brilliant as she is."

James seemed to consider this. He nodded his head, acknowledging he understood to an extent what Remus and Peter were trying to say. "Right, I'll add that to the list," he sighed. "Don't harass her about her school work."

"Good," Remus grinned. "Wormtail, I think he might be getting it!"

"I still think she needs to sort out her priorities," Sirius groaned, ignoring the other boys entirely. "I mean sure school is important, but it's Quidditch!"

"Unfortunately we can't say the same for Padfoot," Peter grumbled as he dug into his breakfast.

* * *

><p>The Scottish Highlands were warm and sunny on the first fall Saturday of the Hogwarts school year. The stands surrounding the Quidditch pitch were filled with students from Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw; eager to see who would make Gryffindor's team this year.<p>

"We better get out there," Sirius told James, clapping him on the shoulder as they both peered out onto the field from the safe confines of the Gryffindor change room.

James gulped, nodding as the two friends made to move out of the change room onto the pitch.

They walked with their brooms over their shoulders as they approached the chaotic group of students of all ages waiting to tryout.

"Captain?" Sirius' voice sounded, interrupting James' thoughts, as he looked around at all the players, taking notice of their brooms and their build. "I think this is where you are supposed to say something?"

"Right," James noted, running his fingers nervously through his hair. He glanced down at the parchment in his other hand, trying to remember what he had planned. He took a deep breath and took a step towards the larger group before he called out, loudly, "Right, you lot, pay attention!"

Everyone stopped moving and turned towards James, who looked a lot more confident after they all gave him their attention.

"Hey, Remus, Peter," Lily greeted the boys, moving through the stands towards them, her arms filled with books.

"Hey Lily," they both chimed back when she finally took a seat next to them.

"I didn't think we would see you here," Remus commented, grinning knowingly.

Lily smiled shyly. "Don't tell anyone else, but I do secretly enjoy watching it all," she told him, teasingly. "Besides, I told Sirius that I would come this morning if he would shut-up, and he did, for a while at the very least."

"Shh-shh they're starting," Peter hushed them, his eyes focused intently on the pitch below where the players were being organized into groups as they mounted their brooms and took off.

Lily and Remus both chuckled a little at the boy's antics, but they both sat back and watched, albeit Lily was only watching between chapters of her texts.

The tryouts last for almost three-hours. Hestia and Alice popped by for about an hour in the middle to watch Marlene lead the other chasers through the drills according to James' instructions.

"She really is good," Hestia exclaimed when they watched the blonde soar past them and shoot an impressive goal into the hoops at the far end.

"When did she first get on the team?" Remus asked the girls having forgotten.

Lily turned to Hestia, trying to jog her memory.

"I think she got on in third-year," Alice told him.

"Yes, she got on the same year as Sirius," Hestia finally recalled.

"Right, she wouldn't stop telling us about how she was so annoyed with Sirius at the tryouts because he kept hitting the bludger in her direction the entire time," Lily laughed, recalling the blonde's rants way back when.

Remus and Peter both laughed at the image, trying to recall that particular year's tryouts.

"Anyways, we should go," Hestia told them after a while.

"We have to go help Professor Sprout before dinner," Alice explained, before both of the girls bid Lily and the boys goodbye, making their way out of the stands, back towards the castle.

"I'm surprised you're still here," Remus told Lily truthfully.

Lily feigned hurt, laughing as she did. "I missed being here the whole summer," she told him, "And it's only this nice so many days of the school year, I have to soak it in while I can."

"Fair enough," Remus chuckled as he too enjoyed the sunlight that was beaming down on them their first Saturday back at Hogwarts.

"I think they are done," Peter told them, not moments later.

Lily and Remus looked up just in time to see James and Sirius flying towards them, Marlene just a little ways behind.

"We're just going to get changed, meet you down there?" James asked, looking at Remus and Peter as Lily had bent over to collect her things. "We can go to the library after dinner if you want to get started on work, Peter?"

The smaller boy nodded his head eagerly, though his face went red knowing that Lily was there.

"Lils! Meet me down there and walk back to the castle?" Marlene called to the auburn-haired witch, who had suddenly sat up.

James' face went red. He turned to Peter, mouthing, "Sorry," after realizing his mistake. "Uh, hi Evans," James greeted Lily almost normally.

Lily corked an eyebrow at the boy before smiling slightly. "Hi, Potter. Bye Remus, Peter, Black," she said quickly before grabbing her bag and her books and running down the stands towards the stairs.

"Prongs, you realize you just spoke to her without being completely obnoxious, and that she left without getting mad at something you've said," Sirius pointed out, grinning wickedly.

James couldn't respond.

* * *

><p>"Remus how are you? It feels as though its been ages," Sarah gasped, delighted, when she had spotted the tall sandy-haired boy sitting in one of the more secluded corners of the library the following Thursday afternoon.<p>

He looked up at her and smiled, standing up to give her a hug before they both settled back down. Sarah Gawrmdry had been a close friend of his since third year when both he and Lily were in a couple of different elective courses and had to pick new partners. She was a half-blood in Ravenclaw and a natural beauty with light brown hair that was almost always tucked into a braid but when she did wear it down it fell in soft curls to the middle of her back. Her eyes were almost as blue as the colour on her school robes and her smile in his mind had the power to light up an entire room.

"Daydreaming so soon in the school year, Remus?" she giggled, after having waited a while for a response.

"Sorry, Sarah," he apologized, smiling slightly. "I've been well, though naturally it has been a while considering I saw you last at the end of term feast last year."

"This is true," she admitted. "Is Lily here?"

Remus nodded towards one of the nearby cases of books that Lily was standing near, contemplating which volume to pick out.

Sarah smiled brightly. "Excuse me for a moment will you?" she said to him before shuffling quickly across the floor to the auburn-haired girl who jumped when Sarah scared her by hugging her tightly from behind.

"Lily!" he could hear Sarah say excitedly when Lily finally spun around to see who had embraced her. He watched with intense curiosity when Sarah looked around before pulling a crumbled piece of paper from her robe pocket and handing it off to Lily, whose smile got visibly wider as she read it over before placing it into her robe pocket discreetly. Lily turned back to the shelf after a few minutes of chatter, with Sarah turning back towards him.

"I'll see you in class soon," Sarah told him quickly, before grabbing his bag and walking briskly away.

"What was that about?" Remus asked Lily, once she had gathered a sufficient pile of books and taken her seat at the table once again.

Her eyes went wide for a moment. "Nothing, just catching up a little, haven't seen her much since term began," she responded in a very un-Lily like manner.

"Right," he sighed skeptically, and she knew it.

"I'll tell you during rounds tomorrow night, when I know that no one can over hear," she told him in a low whisper after having checked their surroundings.

"Alright," he nodded, going back to his parchment.

"Remus!" she gasped not even a second later.

"What?" he asked hurriedly, her sudden outburst having startled him.

* * *

><p>"I can't believe we almost missed it," Remus exclaimed as he and Lily raced through the halls, eager to catch the tail end of dinner.<p>

"Do you ever think we study too intently?" she asked, but that just caused the both of them to erupt in laughter just outside the hall.

Once they settled down, both of them turned to enter but Lily abruptly bumped into another student who was exiting at the time.

"I'm terribly sorry," Lily said, exasperated, as she looked up into the face of a Slytherin by the name of Isabella Rowle, who was closely accompanied by her twin brother Theodore, Severus Snape and Ava MacDougal.

"Sure you are," Isabella gawked, dusting off her robes before purposefully bumping into Lily's shoulder and spitting out the word, "Mudblood," in Lily's ear.

Remus grabbed Lily's hand, helping her to stand up, his gaze still locked on the retreating Slytherin's forms. "She's changed drastically," he commented, referring to the dark brown haired beauty that had bumped into her just moments before. "When did that happen?"

"Not sure," she said softly. "Come on, let's go," she sighed, grabbing a hold of his arm and dragging him into the hall, "Let's pray there is still some food left."

Upon entering the hall, both of their eyes automatically fell on their two groups of friends who were sitting at different ends of the Gryffindor table, still picking away at their food as they laughed and chatted.

"See you later," Lily told Remus, smiling before turning to glare at James and Sirius and going on her way towards the girls, who greeted her merrily before they started joking about her tardiness to dinner.

"Moony, it's only the second week, you can't start missing dinner already!" James exclaimed, slapping a hand on his mate's shoulder as he took a seat next to them at dinner.

"I got caught up with Lily, sorry," Remus explained, making James' jaw drop. "Prongs, no not like that!" he exclaimed, laughing when he noticed his friends expression.

"So what was it like exactly, Moony?" Sirius asked, wriggling his eyebrows suggestively, doing his best to stir the pot.

Remus shook his head, chuckling at his friends' antics. "She was taking a while with books and then Sarah came in-"

"Whose Sarah?" Peter questioned, at a loss of who the girl was.

"Sarah, Ravenclaw our year, hangs out with Lily in the classes that she doesn't have with the other girls," Remus told him, trying to jog his memory.

"Light-brown hair, blue eyes, totally unattainable," Sirius drooled.

"To some," Remus coughed, jokingly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sirius gawked. "Are you trying to say that I couldn't get that girl if I tried?"

"Padfoot, I'm telling you right now, she would not go out with you," James stepped in, having had a conversation or two with Remus about Sarah before. "So," he continued, trying to change the direction of this conversation, "You were late because Sarah was talking to Lily?"

"Er, yeah, and because Lily accidently bumped into Isabella Rowle just before we came in," he added a little quieter.

"Ouch, that can't have been a nice meeting," Sirius remarked.

Remus and Peter looked at their friend quizzically, not entirely sure what he meant by that, considering Isabella had always been one of the nicer Slytherin's, particularly to Lily. But James knew what Sirius had meant by it all, having been brought up to date about the allegiances of many of the noble households when Sirius ran away to his house this summer.

"The Rowle's have sworn allegiance to Voldemort apparently," James explained for the other two boys. "So have the McDougal's."

Down at the other end of the table, Lily smiled as Hestia went on about the boy with whom she had had a crush on for many years, who had apparently just recently returned her affections when they were paired together for a Muggle Studies project.

"…his brother apparently fancies you, Lily," Hestia said, turning to her auburn-haired best-friend. "David Zegwater."

Lily choked a little on her dinner.

"Isn't he a seventh year?" Marlene questioned, her face giving away her shock.

"Yes, but anyways, Jacob says that all David's done for the past few months since school ended is talk about some beautiful Gryffindor red-head," Hestia explained, grinning at her best-friend who blushed so hard her skin matched the colour of her hair.

"Well that's nice of him," Lily responded softly, regaining her composure after a few moments.

Alice and Marlene laughed at her response. "So have you started work on the assignment yet?" Alice asked the blonde, who launched into a conversation about her rather dumb partner who wouldn't do anything but watch her oddly during class. Hestia took the chance to talk to Lily more privately while the other two were distracted.

"He may have also asked if you would go on a double date with him to Hogsmeade the next time we go visit, with Jacob and I?" Hestia half asked, half pleaded with Lily. "I wouldn't ask you if I didn't feel I needed to," she added quietly. "Please, just one date, and then I'll never ask you for anything again!" she pleaded.

Lily relented. "Of course I'll go," she smiled softly.

Hestia smiled brightly before hugging Lily tightly. "I wonder how James is going to take the news," Hestia laughed at the ongoing joke the two friends had.

Lily shrugged, looking past her friend to see the boy they were discussing who appeared to be in deep conversation with the other Marauders. "He needs to move on," she said simply. "He can't keep expecting me to go out with him when he acts… well when he acts so pigheaded all of the time. He can't even have a decent conversation with me."

Hestia quirked an eyebrow at the girl. "To be fair, Lils, you have never really given him much of a chance."

"I've already agreed to go on this double date, don't push it," Lily warned Hestia, albeit she was smiling the entire time.

"You're right, you're right," Hestia relented, grinning. "Are you ready to go? I can't pretend I'm eating any longer," she asked Lily, glancing down at her plate.

"Yes, please, I want to get some more work done for my essay before astronomy," Lily explained, as the two got up from the bench, promising to meet the other two in the common room when they were done.

"I'd almost forgotten that you had taken that," Hestia said as the two made their way out of the hall. "Then again, there aren't many classes that you aren't enrolled in this term."

The auburn-haired witch rolled her eyes at her brunette best-friend, though the two were still laughing about her schedule by the time they reached the portrait of the fat-lady a couple of minutes later.

"I love being awake so late at night learning," Lily admitted, "I can't help it. Besides I need one course that is easier in its concepts."

"You could have taken divination if you wanted to do that," Hestia commented, waiting for the reaction she knew would come from making such a remark to the girl.

"If I have a plan to die before the end of seventh year I will reconsider taking divination," Lily remarked sarcastically.

"Don't let Alice hear you," Hestia warned teasingly, taking a seat on the couch in front of the fire as Lily spread out her work on the ground ahead of her. "She finds the subject rather fascinating apparently, though I'm with you, I don't understand the appeal."

Lily's forthcoming sarcastic remark was cut off by four familiar and loud voices making their way into the warm common room.

The four Marauders were doubled over in laughter as they came around the corner. Remus gave the girls a quick warning glance, but it came too late as James and Sirius had already spotted them sitting there and were making their way towards them.

"There are our two favourite girls in the whole school!" Sirius sang, flopping onto the couch next to Hestia, throwing his arm around her shoulders despite the glares she was sending his way.

"And here are our two least favourite boys," Lily groaned, trying to gather her pieces of parchment up once again.

"Going somewhere, Evans?" James asked her, taking a seat in a nearby chair.

"Well I wouldn't have to if you and your band of goons would leave Hestia and I to our work," Lily told him haughtily, though she was secretly pleading with the boy to get up and leave them in peace without attempting to raise her temper.

"But where would the fun in that be?" Peter questioned mischievously.

"You're all incorrigible," Lily growled, grabbing her stuff and stalking off to a table on the other side of the common room.

"Do you think she realizes that she's going to have to spend the evening with the three of you, alone?" Sirius chuckled after Hestia had gotten up to go join Lily at her table.

Remus held back a laugh at the thought of Lily's face when she realized she would be trekking through the halls with himself, James and Peter late that evening, and every Thursday until the end of sixth year.

"I'd brace yourself now if I was you, Prongs," Peter told his friend truthfully.

"Prongs, just don't be so obnoxious," Sirius told his friend.

"What?" James questioned incredulously.

"Prongs, Lily would like you if you could just be the person you are with us about eighty-five percent of the time," Remus explained. "She values people who value friendship, and loyalty, and you are that person with us, just be that round her."

"It's not going to be easy mate," Peter told him seriously, "But give it an honest shot and maybe, just maybe you'll get to be friends with her at the very least.

"Right," James nodded taking it all in just as Alice and Marlene came running into the room giddily.

"I can't believe you agreed, Lily! I really didn't think you would!" Marlene shrieked happily, hugging the auburn-haired girl.

The boys watched on curiously, James and Peter even moving to get up to sit on the edge of the couch to get a better listen on the conversation.

"No, Alice, I can get ready on my own," they heard Lily grumble after a couple of moments of shrieking, the boys only able to make out a few words that didn't mean anything to them in the grand scheme of it all.

"But Lils, this is the first Hogsmeade date that you've actually accepted, ever," Marlene whined, playing with Lily's auburn locks as she did.

James and Sirius' jaws dropped, with James going so far as to topple over backwards on the sofa, something everyone in the common room, even Lily managed to catch sight of. When he didn't stand up after quite a few moments, Lily, despite her disgust of the boy scurried out of her chair to see if the boy was all right.

"Potter? Potter!" she yelled into his ear, slapping the ground next to him to see if his eyes would open.

His eyes opened suddenly, his head shooting up almost as instantly.

"Ow," Lily shrieked, the moment his head made contact with hers.

The two of them both sat there for a few moments, rubbing their foreheads as the rest of the common room watched on expectantly.

Lily looked at James, finding it hard to control her laughter when she saw how red his forehead was and how he clearly seemed to be in pain because of it all.

He caught her gaze, taking the opportunity to glance at her forehead that appeared to be bruising and the slight red mark above her eyebrow where his glasses had made a slight cut. When they made eye contact with one another, after assessing the other's injuries they both burst out in laughter.

"She's not murdering him," Peter gawked.

"She's not heartless," Marlene sniped back.

"Terribly sorry about that, Evans," James apologized, once their laughing had subsided. He stood up, careful to avoid knocking into her once again; extending his hand to her once he was standing upright.

She took it, smiling slightly as he helped her up. "It's alright, Potter," she remarked before walking back to her table.

Sirius gave James the thumbs up, when they made eye contact.

Marlene and Alice smirked at Lily when she took a seat next to them once again. The girl looked at them for a brief moment before directing her gaze to her work once again. "I don't want to hear it," Lily told them, not looking at them when she did, instead choosing to scribble her answers messily onto the page to get her point across.

"Fine, be that way," Marlene teased, "You're still not going to get the luxury of getting away with it."

"Mhhm," Lily mumbled, choosing to ignore her friends for the next hour until it would be time for them to go up to the dormitory and for her to go off to Astronomy till the early morning.

* * *

><p>"You're all in Astronomy?" she asked the three boys skeptically when she saw they were gathered at the door when she came down from exchanging books in her dormitory.<p>

"Lucky you," James teased, grinning at her as she neared them.

"Not exactly what I was thinking," she remarked. "Are you coming now?" she asked, just when she was about to leave.

"We were waiting for you," Peter told her, following her through the entrance hole into the dark corridor.

"Oh," she blushed, turning to the smaller boy. "Thanks."

"Wouldn't want you travelling the halls by yourself," Remus told her, giving her a knowing look. "Especially after this evening."

Lily's eyes went wide. "That was nothing, really," she tried to assure him.

"Don't let them get to you Evans, they're not worth it," James told her firmly.

She looked at the boy incredulously. "I can fend for myself, thank-you very much, Potter," she told him irritably. "Besides, it's stupid prejudice's like yours against them that started this war in the first place!"

"Prejudice? You've got to be joking!" he yelled at her, equally furious with her accusations.

"I most certainly am not," she huffed. "You bully them, constantly. All of you! You judge them based off of some reputation their house supposedly has! That doesn't make you any better than them! There are some people in that house who are much, much better people than you can ever hope to become."

"Like Snivelus?" he gawked. "Now I know you must be joking. He was horrible to you! He called you a you-know-what!"

"He did? Really? Oh well that changes everything!" she yelled sarcastically. "I mean, you and me should be friends now, heck why don't we just have a snog right here in the halls?"

James' face went red, loosening his tie in attempt to help himself regain his breath.

"Now you must be fooling yourself if you think that I would ever in a million years date you because he called me a mudblood!" Lily screeched at him before stalking away. She stopped suddenly, walking back towards the three Marauders, stopping directly in front of James. "And for your information Potter, I was not referring to Snape when I was talking about the Slytherin's being better off than you!" she told him harshly before spinning around and walking briskly down the corridor towards the Astronomy tower for their midnight lesson.

Remus hit his friend over the head. "Are you daft?" he asked him.

"She said that I was prejudice!" James exclaimed in his defense.

"She was wrong to say that," Remus admitted calmly, "But you can't blame her for seeing you as that way when you bullied her best-friend practically every day since the train ride first year."

"But they aren't even friends anymore!" James exclaimed. "I don't get why she still defends them!"

"Do you honestly think that after so many years of her being best-friends with Snape that he was her only friend in the house?" Remus reasoned.

James stopped in his tracks. "Rowle? Are you saying that she's friends with Rowle?"

"Yes, Potter?" a voice piped up from behind them.

The three boys turned around to see none other than Isabella Rowle walking gracefully towards them; her eyes glaring fiercely at James. She stopped just short of them, shocking them into silence. Her grey eyes bore into them all, as she contemplated just what to say to them.

Peter openly drooled as he looked at the Slytherin girl, who despite her house associations was admittedly quite beautiful with her dark brown hair that was always perfectly curled in loose waves, causing many of the boys to go dough-eyed at the sight of her.

She looked curiously at the smaller of the boys, choking back a laugh when she noticed his drool, before turning back towards James.

"You needn't be so rude, you know," she told him. "That's no way to earn a girl's affections, speaking in such a tone. Besides, there is absolutely nothing wrong with being a Slytherin, though I can find many things wrong with being a Gryffindor, or a Potter for that matter." She stalked off almost immediately afterwards, leaving the boys in the same shocked state, as Lily had not moments before.

"Tonight is not your night, mate," Remus chuckled when they were climbing the stairs to the tower.

James sulked as he took his seat on one of the stone steps amongst his other classmates. He couldn't help but glance in Lily's direction, wondering who she would sit with considering no other Gryffindor's but them were in the class. He was slightly surprised to see her sitting next to a Hufflepuff he didn't recognize, but after asking Peter he learned that the girl and Lily had been friends for a few years now and that her name was Sophie Vembulom. He noticed that Isabella was seated close to them as well, though she was sitting a little ways back with a Ravenclaw that he later recognized as Sarah Gawrmdry, the girl Lily and Remus had bumped into earlier that same day. It seemed weird to him that those four girls were connected to one another, yet incredibly different people, and he spent the entire class wondering where exactly Lily fit into the whole picture.

* * *

><p>AN: <em>All recognizable J.K. Rowling content is fully hers and I take no credit for it. For my followers, you may notice there has been a slightly dramatic tweaking to the story. I felt as though Lily and James' relationship was coming on too fast and that in reality it would not have occurred so quickly. So I've been rewriting it. The first two chapters have bits that were not included in the original story, and they chapters have much more content, though many things from the original story are still included. All of the events from the original that you have reviewed will still be included, though they may come much later than they originally occurred. Please let me know what you think, and I apologize for changing it so drastically, especially if you are not as keen on the new plot. <em>


	4. Two Steps Back, Two Steps Forward

The History of Magic classroom was bright as the afternoon light poured in through the windows, casting latticed patterns across the desk from the old panes. Lily sat there, her notes forgotten as her eyes drifted toward where her friend sat, his complexion pale and beads of sweat trickling down his face, making his shirt wet at the brims. Her eyes glanced quickly towards the front of the class, where their professor was pacing above the heads of the front row.

She quickly, and messily wrote down a cheerful message for her friend before sending it zooming across the class to his desk. The boy woke up a little when the piece of parchment went flying into his arm, startling him from his daydream.

"Whose it from?" James asked his friend, peeking over his shoulder to get a peak at the note Remus was just sent.

Remus smiled a little internally when he recognized the handwriting that was written in his friend's favourite purple ink on the front of the parchment. He unfolded it to reveal a little image of a full moon, but beneath it instead of the images he was used to seeing was a party with balloons and all of his friends with a little note beneath it saying, 'Everything is better with friends by your side. My mum always says smiling is the best medicine. And brownies, which I will have in my dorm for you to indulge in tomorrow. All the best, Lily'. Remus glanced across the classroom at his friend who was once again scribbling down every word the professor was saying, though he could see a slight smile on her face when she felt him look in her direction.

* * *

><p>"You should really go to the Hospital wing, you look like you're getting worse much earlier than previous times," Lily whispered to Remus sympathetically after they had consumed quite a bit of their dinner.<p>

The Great Hall was a buzz on the Monday night, though there were quite a few students that were extremely anxious as they awaited the news of the house teams, the news which would be posted in their common rooms once everyone returned from dinner. James was beside Remus, making sure he had made the absolute best decisions for the Gryffindor team. Marlene and Sirius sat across from him, despite their mutual dislike of one another, discussing with James in low whispers the final team decisions.

"The boys are taking me down after dinner," Remus assured her, trying to smile despite the aching feeling that was filling his entire body.

"Do they always take you down?" she asked, making sure her voice was low.

Remus nodded whilst he chewed his food. "They feel bad that they can't do anything else to make me feel better," he told her.

Lily looked past him to James and Sirius before shrugging. "I'm glad they are good friends to you," she remarked, making him laugh a little.

"They really are good people, Lily."

"When they want to be, I'm sure they can be. I just can't see it. Not with the way they pick on people for their own enjoyment," she ranted. "I know Severus is not everyone's favourite person, Merlin knows he's no longer mine, but he doesn't deserve a majority of what they do to him. None of their targets do."

"I know," he sighed.

"I'm sorry Remus," she apologized. "I shouldn't have said all that, even if I believe it to be true. You have other things to worry about today."

He smiled, thanking her.

"How did your Charms essay turn out?" she asked him, changing the subject.

"Moony, we're heading up," Sirius called to his friend as both he and James got up from the table, Peter having skipped dinner to complete his last-minute essay.

"Got to post the list before all the eager second-years see if any of them made it," James chuckled, reaching for his parchment off of the table.

"See you later, Lily," Remus said quickly, getting up to follow his friends out.

* * *

><p>"I don't think I'm going to be able to make it back to the common room," Remus moaned to his friends.<p>

Sirius and James looked at one another quickly before grabbing a hold of their friend's arms and rushing him in the opposite direction, away from Gryffindor tower and towards the Hospital Wing instead.

They called out Madame Pomfrey's name when they were still a little ways outside the doors in hope that she would be ready to help him the moment they came in. She was ushering them towards the nearest bed the moment the three boys crossed the threshold.

"I've got it from here, you boys can go," she hastily told James and Sirius once Remus was as comfortable as he could be on the bed.

The boys both waited until the matron had retreated to her office for a moment before going back to Remus' bedside.

"We will be out as soon as everyone has gone to bed," James told his friend quickly before both he and Sirius went running out of the hospital wing before Madam Pomfrey came back to hassle them about their presence.

"It's hitting him hard this month," Sirius sighed, speaking the obvious concerning thought.

"Maybe we can try to sneak out earlier so he won't be alone for as long beforehand," James suggested helpfully.

"Brilliant, mate," Sirius exclaimed, clapping James on the shoulder as they reached the portrait hole. The boys wandered into the common room that was still empty with everyone still at dinner. "Do you think Evans ever told that slimy-git about Moony's furry little problem?"

"She wouldn't," James responded confidently.

"But she hates us, don't you think letting that out, especially to Snivellus would be the ultimate way to get back at us for all the stupid pranks we've pulled on the both of them over the years?" Sirius reasoned.

"She wouldn't," James said, disbelieving. "She may hate our guts but she actually cares about Remus."

"I don't know, I still think that we should make sure that she knows that we know that she knows and that we will be watching," Sirius told him.

"So basically you want to threaten her?" James chuckled.

"Prongs, I'm serious, really," Sirius protested. "We need to make sure that Evans doesn't jeopardize Moony's place at the school; that she doesn't slip up."

"Ok, fine, but no threatening her life," James wagered.

* * *

><p>"Lily, watch out or you're going to trip up the stairs," Hestia teased, trying to pry the novel out of her friends hands at least until they got to level ground.<p>

"I'm almost...done," Lily said slowly, speaking only at the page breaks.

"Lily watch out!" Marlene shrieked from behind the auburn-haired witch.

"What!?" Lily shrieked, becoming immediately disoriented the moment her foot went to find the next step and instead she slipped and fell down a couple of stairs.

"Just wanted to teach you a lesson," Marlene smirked, extending her hand out to help pull the girl up from the ground as Alice reached down to grab Lily's book. Lily took Marlene's hand, dusting off her robes once she was stood up straight. Alice passed the book back to her, but Lily immediately handed it off to Hestia.

"I give up, you all win," Lily sighed when she gave the book to Hestia.

"It's for your own safety, Lils," Alice told her friend, leading her away from the stairs and down the corridor towards the common room. Alice noticed James and Sirius lurking in the alcove ahead, looking oddly suspicious as they watched every step Lily took. They noticed her when she made eye contact with them, holding their fingers up to their lips to motion her to stay quiet as they pointed at Lily signaling they wanted her. Sirius even went so far as to pout to get Alice to agree to get Lily to speak to them. She turned around to Marlene and Hestia to motion to them the plan, and despite Hestia's hesitations they all agreed it probably wasn't for anything too dangerous.

The boys reached out for Lily as she was walking by, James covering her mouth and grabbing a hold of one of her arms while Sirius dragged her into the alcove, that he lit with his wand just a moment later.

"Are you trying to kill me?" she shrieked when James finally let his hand go from her mouth.

"We just want to ask you a question!" Sirius exclaimed, before she had the chance to freak out and attract more attention to their little alcove.

Lily glared fiercely at both of the boys, her gaze lingering on James, not trusting his involvement in the least. She crossed her arms across her chest and tapped her foot impatiently. "Well?"

The boys both looked back at her shocked, expecting another freak out.

"Er, right," James nodded, running his hand through his hair.

"You better not be asking me out Potter or I swear to Merlin that I will-"

"Evans that's not what we want to ask!" Sirius cut her off.

"We saw the note you sent Remus in History of Magic today," James told her cutting to the chase.

She looked at them both blankly. "And?"

"Have you ever told anyone about his…condition?" Sirius questioned her.

"No, Merlin no. I would never do that," she gasped, astonished that they would even ask her such a question. "Did something happen? Does someone else know?" she questioned them quickly, trying to think of the possible reasons as to why they would accuse her of such a traitorous act.

"No," James said quickly.

"Oh," Lily breathed a sigh of relief. But upon looking up at the boys once again another thought popped into her mind. "Do you both honestly think that little of me that you think I would betray Remus because of you both?" she accused them bitterly.

James and Sirius both took a step back.

"Do you honestly think so little of me?" she asked before her temper rose once more. "No matter what you two idiots get up to, no matter who you hurt or bully, I will always keep Remus' secret, because unlike either of you he has earned my respect and loyalty and that is not something that I wish to jeopardize," she yelled at them, taking them back before she stomped on both of their feet and stalked away from the alcove towards the common room once more.

James hit Sirius over the back of the head. "Will you just listen to me next time I say that she wouldn't do something?" he growled at Sirius before he too ran out of the dark alcove towards the common room after Lily.

Lily walked briskly into the common room and up the stairs to her room; ignoring the looks the other Gryffindor's were giving her as she fumed through the warm room. The sixth-year girls dormitory door slammed open, bouncing off of the stonewall behind it and successfully startling all occupants of the room. The auburn-haired girl walked straight towards Hestia's bed, and held her palm open expectantly. Hestia's grey eyes met Lily's for a moment before she quickly reached for the novel she had taken from her a short while ago, placing it once again in her friend's palm. Lily held the book tightly to her chest, crossing the room to her bed where she curled up beneath the covers and closed the curtains, leaving the girls speechless.

Marlene looked expectantly at Alice, who both she and Hestia knew, knew the reason why Lily disappeared suddenly. Alice motioned for both the girls to come over to her bed where she then placed a spell around the bed so Lily wouldn't hear their conversation.

"No wonder she's upset," Hestia, sighed, "Those boys never leave her in a good mood."

"I honestly thought they meant well," Alice huffed. "I wouldn't have let it happen otherwise."

"I know one way to cheer her up," Marlene grinned, holding up the letter that a school owl had delivered to their room for Lily earlier that evening.

Both Alice and Hestia perked up, nodding eagerly for Marlene to get up and go and give it to their upset friend.

"Lils? I know you're upset, but I have a letter for you," Marlene chided, opening Lily's bed curtains.

The girl in question sat up eagerly, smiling a little as she reached for the letter in her friend's hand. Lily smiled brightly when she recognized her father's handwriting on the front of the letter. She quickly ripped it open, unfolding the pages, her eyes scanning the pages, her face growing brighter with each page she read.

When she was finished reading she scrambled off her bed a little to give Marlene a hug.

"Thanks, Marls," she sighed, once she sat back into her pillows once again.

Marlene took a seat on the end of her friends bed, flattening her favourite blanket of Lily's over her lap. She wriggled her eyebrows, making Lily laugh just as it always did. "So what did Jonathan have to say?" she asked happily.

"He was telling me about the plans that are in place for their wedding anniversary party that's happening at Christmas," Lily told her merrily, scanning the letter for all the topics he covered. "He was telling me about Petunia's schooling and how much she's enjoying her courses. Mum's apparently got promoted to one of the head nurse positions at the hospital. He said that my grandma and grandpa are still doing well and that they send their love," she recalled, closing the letter back up once she had told Marlene everything.

"Anything else?" Marlene asked.

"Only that my mum was convinced that these brownies were the best she had ever made," Lily said, staring amusedly at her friend.

"She sent brownies?" Marlene teased, hoping off the bed.

"Marls!" Lily shrieked, jumping off after her.

Marlene snatched the package of brownies off of her bed, holding them above her head, as she ran around the room, Lily chasing her tirelessly much to the amusement of Alice and Hestia who were shaking their heads and laughing at the whole ordeal.

"I'll give you some if you just give them back!" Lily claimed, tackling Marlene onto her bed.

"Really?" Marlene exclaimed excitedly.

Lily rolled her eyes, snatching the package back. "Honestly, Marls, when have I not given you my mum's treats when she's sent them," Lily laughed, opening the brown paper package to reveal the brownies.

Marlene pulled her wand out, casting a quick warming spell on the brownies before reaching for one and stuffing it in her mouth. "Thank-you," she told Lily, her mouth full of brownie.

Lily laughed at her friend's antics before reaching for one herself. "You're welcome," she told Marlene, her mouth as equally as full of brownie as the blonde's had been when she thanked her.

Marlene fell backwards on her bed laughing just as Hestia and Alice scrambled off of Alice's bed, hoping next to the two girls onto Marlene's bed, and grabbing brownies for themselves.

"I think your mum's right," Hestia sighed, speaking with her mouth full, joining in on the fun whilst Alice made funny faces while the brownie was on her tongue.

Lily and Marlene shrieked at the disgustingness of the sight, but were laughing too much to do anything about it. Lily eventually grabbed the package, wrapping it back up and placing it in her bedside cupboard to save the rest for Remus tomorrow. The girls knew exactly what she was doing, though they couldn't hide their disappointment when the tasty treats were taken away.

When Lily climbed back onto Marlene's bed with the other girls they had all calmed down significantly, though their faces were all still sporting bright smiles.

"Exploding snap anyone?" Marlene suggested, wriggling her eyebrows once again.

Hestia and Alice nodded in agreement instantly and turned to Lily to await her answer. Lily shrugged, nodding as well. "I'm done all my work for the week," she said simply, though it was only Monday. The other three girls shook their heads at her organizational capabilities, smiling because they knew how happy it made her to be that way.

"Let's play," Lily grinned and the girls set up the game.

* * *

><p>She flipped over, her eyes open as she stared at the shadows the full moon was casting on the dormitory floor. She pulled her pillow over her head, hoping that it would help her to fall back to sleep once more but it was to no avail. She propped the pillow against her headboard, sitting up and smoothing out the covers on her lap. Her book sat open on her bedside table, next to her watch, wand and photos from home. Sleepily she slipped out from beneath the covers, her feet searching the space beside her bed for her slippers. When they were finally on her feet, keeping them warm from the cold stone floor, she picked up her book and wand from her bedside table and crept quietly out of the room.<p>

When she reached the bottom of the girls stairway and the door that led to the landing that connected the boys and girls sides and featured the stairs leading down to the warm, comfy common room she heard three familiar voices. Cautiously she propped open the girls door only slightly, so the muffled voices could become clearer.

"Thanks for jumping in there Paddy," she heard James' voice say as they undoubtedly crossed the common room to the stairs.

"That gash would have been a lot bigger if I hadn't," Sirius told him. "I'll go grab the stuff from the dorm. Wait here, don't want a blood trail on the stairs," he chuckled.

She immediately closed the door till it was open but a sliver. When the boys stair door closed behind Sirius she opened it up a little more.

"I wish I was a more helpful animal," she heard Peter sigh.

Animal? Gash? She could feel her heart beat faster, the gears turning in her head as she thought about what Peter could have possibly meant by that and why James Potter would have a large gash on his body. For a moment her mind wandered back to a time last year when she was wandering the grounds with Severus and he was telling her about a new spell he was coming up with, one that would have the power to cut people's bodies in the most horrible ways.

"I've got it," Sirius said hurriedly once he was back in the common room with the other boys. "Lay back on the couch, Prongsie."

"Padfoot what did I say about- ouch!" James yelped.

Lily tiptoed out of the girls stairwell until she was able to overlook the common room from a rather dark corner of the landing. In the dim light of the room below she could make out Peter's form in front of the fire, pacing. Sirius on the other hand was ruffling through a box of what appeared to Lily to be potions and bandages. James was laying down on the couch, his one leg elevated on some pillows, with his arms supporting his head while he did his best not to cry out and attract others attentions.

Sirius found the right potion after a little while of digging and carefully placed drops of it along the gash on his friend's leg as James bit his fist to keep from calling out. The dark haired boy grabbed the bandages and neatly fastened them around his friend's leg, making sure they were secure before packaging the rest away.

"Thanks Padfoot," James said after inspecting his leg.

Sirius just shrugged. "I'm ready to hit my bed and sleep till noon," he claimed, yawning.

"Me too," Peter agreed, heading towards the stairs with Sirius.

"Coming Prongsie?" Sirius turned around to ask James who was slowly but surely getting up off the couch. But the raven-haired boy shook his head.

"I still have a few more inches of the charms essay to finish," he told them, making his way over to the table in the corner of the room.

"Suit yourself," Sirius said before both he and Peter continued on their journey up the stairs.

Lily ran back into the girls stairwell, closing the door once more, opening it only when she heard the boys door close after Sirius and Peter had passed by her. She debated whether or not to still go down to the common room to read herself to sleep despite the presence of James Potter or whether she should just head upstairs and lay awake staring at the hangings above her bed. When she looked down to the common room once more from the landing, seeing how warm and cozy it looked with the fire and large couch and blankets her mind was made up.

She was careful not to make too much noise as she padded down the stairs; her hand grazing the cold stonewalls.

James looked up when he saw the shadow of a figure coming down the stairs. His heart stopped when he realized it was Lily. She was wearing slippers on her feet and a nightdress beneath her night robe; her hair was pulled back into a braid, a few strands sticking out of it, framing her face with their soft curls. In her hands she held a book, one he recognized as not being one of their textbooks. She walked directly towards the fire, though her movement was slower and more graceful than it normally was when he was in the room with her. He watched as she slumped into the couch that he had been laying on a couple of moments ago, and as she snuggled into the corner where his head had been resting, opened her book and began to read.

She could feel his eyes in the back of her head, watching her every movement. Lily blamed the fact that she was exhausted as the reason for her not turning around and telling him to stop staring for in this moment she didn't really mind. She could hear his quill start up again, furiously scribbling down what she presumed to be the charms essay due the following morning. In the whole time she was listening to him write and flip the pages of the textbook she barely read more than a few pages.

"What are you reading?" James asked her quietly, coming around the back of the couch to the place in front of the fire, his essay remaining on the table behind him completed.

Her green, tired eyes met his. She tilted the novel up so he could read the title without her having to actually say anything to him, afraid an outburst would wake the still sleeping students.

"_The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,_" he read aloud. "Does it have to do with a witch in Gryffindor house?" he asked, suddenly intrigued.

Lily laughed a little at his question, knowing that the world of magic they lived in was the only one he would think of to be true. That he wouldn't have thought or had the need to think that others ever existed. "No, it's not," she said softly. "It's about a magical world that these four siblings stumble upon and their adventures there..."

"Is it any good?" he asked her as he took a seat on the ground in front of the fire.

"Are you going to accuse me of something again?" she asked him flat out.

"No," James responded quickly. "I meant to apologize about that. It really wasn't my idea. Remus has just always been so sensitive about his condition, and we don't want him to ever be in a position where he risks getting hurt."

"I get that," Lily sighed, her voice a little more friendly.

"So is it any good?" he questioned her again, nodding towards the book.

"Do you really want to know, Potter?" she questioned him skeptically.

He nodded eagerly.

"It's enchanting, truthfully," she smiled, "It's an incredible world the author has created, and the thrill of the chase that she leads you on countless times, it makes your heart beat fast." She told him about her favourite part so far, but stopped suddenly when she had another idea. "I can lend it to you after, if you want," she suggested, motioning to the fact that she was nearly done. "I don't want to ruin it for you."

"Like you could ever ruin anything for me," he thought, but knew better than to say that when she was clearly in such a good mood at this particular moment in time.

"Could you read a little bit to me?" he asked her sheepishly.

His request took her a little by surprise, stunning her for a few moments as she searched his face for any signs of joking. She couldn't find anything there. Hesitantly, and most likely regretfully she closed the book without saving the page she was currently on.

James watched nervously, thinking that her next step would be to throw it at him or to even get up at leave but he was pleasantly surprised when she flipped the book open once again to the beginning, completely forgetting where she had been before.

"Once there were four children whose names were Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy. This story is about something that happened to them when they were sent away from London during the war because of the air raids…She shut the wardrobe door tightly behind her and looked around, panting for breath. It was still raining and she could hear the voice of the others in the passage. "I'm here," she shouted. "I'm here. I've come back. I'm alright.""

"Don't stop," James begged her from the floor where he was sprawled out, having watched the flames as they danced on the ceiling of the room while Lily's voice choreographed the whole routine.

She folded the corner of the page she had just finished reading and watched as James continued to be mesmerized by the flames.

"Were you working on the charms essay earlier?" she asked, once she had gotten up and wandered over to the desk where he was sat when she first came down.

He sprang up from the floor, not wanting her of all people to look at his work, but it was too late by the time he reached the table for her eyes had already begun scanning the page of his messy handwriting. He watched in anticipation as she read his work over, her small delicate finger tracing the line she was reading. When she was near the end, he held his breath; nervous that she would turn to him in a moment and tell him everything she believed to be wrong with it.

"It's good, Potter," she told him, placing it back down on the table. "Professor Flitwick will appreciate the comparison you have in the middle there. It's one of his favourites to make."

"Really?"

"Yes," she laughed a little. Oh, how he would never get tired of that sound. "He always goes on about it if I'm using his classroom to help tutor some of the first years."

"Do you tutor first years often?"

She turned to him, a smile playing on her lips. "Wasn't it just last year when Peter admitted that you had a schedule tracking my every movement and every activity?" she teased him playfully for the first time in his life.

He ran his hand through his hair, something that brought out two very different feelings in her, though she only recognized one of them. "Touché," he relented after a while. "It doesn't mean that I still don't want to know more about you."

"Why would you want to know more about me?" she questioned him. "It's not as though you actually care."

"How can you say that?"

"Potter, despite whatever just happened, you and I are two very different people, with very different lives," she explained, though her voice was softer than it normally was when she was giving him a lecture. "It would make everything a lot easier on the both of us if you stopped playing the 'ask Evans out in the most embarrassing way possible' game."

"Right," he nodded, trying to process it all.

Her eyes searched his face, waiting for the ultimatum she was sure was going to come, though when it did it was not the one she was expecting.

* * *

><p>"Please take your essays out and place them in front of you on your desk," Flitwick called out to the class.<p>

His request was met by the sound of many textbooks hitting the desk and chairs scratching the hardwood floors.

James watched as Remus panicked, at Flitwick's announcement pulling on his hair. He pulled his own essay out of his bag from where it was crammed between his Charms and Alchemy texts. He checked to make sure Remus wasn't watching before he quickly scribbled his friends name on the top of the ten inches of parchment. He flipped it upside down when he was done so Remus wouldn't see if he looked up before Flitwick summoned the papers towards him.

The students all ducked when Flitwick waved his wand, doing their best to avoid getting major paper-cutes when the many pieces of parchment flew past them.

The papers attacked Flitwick, making quite a few of the students laugh as loudly as they did the first time they saw it happen.

"Class dismissed," Flitwick called once he was able to stand up right once again.

"I'll meet you at lunch," Lily told Alice who nodded and jogged to catch up with Hestia and Marlene who were both already out the door. "I saw that," she whispered in James' ear, coming up behind the Marauders who were still gathered around the boy's desks trying to console Remus who was beating himself up for forgetting the essay.

"Saw what?" he asked, turning around to face her.

"You wrote Remus' name on your essay that you were up late working so hard on," Lily told him, grinning. "That was really considerate of you, Potter… James," she told him truthfully, before placing a hand on his shoulder for a moment before spinning around and running to catch up to the girls.

"I have no clue what that was about," Sirius exclaimed, clapping James on the back. "But did Evans just call you James?"

James nodded slowly, still not believing that she just called him his actual name for the first time in all the years he had known her.

"Well that's good! Maybe now she will agree to go out with you," Sirius grinned. "It is Hogsmeade next weekend…"

"Do you not remember that she is going out with that other guy?" James reminded Sirius as the four boys all walked out of the classroom.

"So?" Peter piped in. "She may be going on a date with him, but that doesn't mean the date has to be perfect."

The thought intrigued James. The idea of making sure Lily had an absolutely horrible time on her date so she wouldn't want to go out with the seventh-year Ravenclaw again. But his train of thought was interrupted by the memory of the previous night, when Lily's soft voice read out to him and she spoke to him in the tone she tended to reserve for anyone but himself and Sirius.

"I think that that is not a good idea, at all," James groaned.

"So you want her to go on a date and have a good time with a bloke that is not you?" Sirius questioned him honestly.

James considered this seriously. "I don't want her to date the guy but I don't want to sabotage her… she'll trace any act of sabotage back to me," James explained, knowing full well that Lily would rip him to shreds if he messed her date up.

"So if we sabotage the date but do it discreetly so she won't know its us, will you let us do it?" Peter asked James, ideas swarming in all of the Marauders heads.

James contemplated his options before turning around to his friends with a wicked smile on his face. "Sabotage away," he grinned.

* * *

><p>The girls dormitory was a complete mess the following Saturday morning, with half of Marlene's clothes strewn across the floors and all the girls beds as the girls tried to get ready for their dates to Hogsmeade later that morning.<p>

"Lily just let me finish your hair," Marlene called after the girl who had walked out of the bathroom before Marlene was done with her.

"Marls, this really isn't necessary," Lily sighed, "It's Hestia's big date."

"Yes, and Alice is doing a fantastic job making sure she's ready for it," Marlene argued pointing towards where Hestia was sitting on the end of her bed making sure that her eyeliner was on right whilst Alice fiddled a little more with her hair.

"Fine, but I don't want you to do much more to it," Lily sighed, taking a seat on her bed.

Marlene grinned brightly. "I just want to finish fixing this curl right here," she told the auburn-haired girl, crawling onto the bed behind her. She pulled her wand out and adjusted the last of the curls surrounding Lily's pale face. Before Lily had the chance to protest Marlene grabbed a few strands from the front of Lily's hair and immediately started braiding them back away from her face. She fastened the two braids from either side of Lily's hair at the back of her head by tying them together into a hair bow.

Lily reaches back to feel it, amazed by Marlene's braiding capabilities.

"Now let's get you dressed," the blonde sang, grabbing Lily's hand and pulling her off the bed. "It's warm out today, for October so I was thinking a dress and jacket."

Lily rolled her eyes at her friend but she accepted her help. Marlene searched through Lily's trunk and then her own, pulling out an olive green dress of Lily's and her own jean jacket, tossing them towards her friend.

Lily slipped the dress on, the scent of the beach still lingering in the fabric from the last time she wore it at the cottage. The dress had tiny straps and a scoop neck line. It cinched at the wait before it fell down to a couple of inches above her knees. She pulled Marlene's jacket on over top and admired the outfit in the mirror. Marlene tossed her gray knee high socks when she turned around.

"Wear your brown boots with them, the socks are for warmth," Marlene instructed her as she got ready herself.

Lily quickly zipped her boots up before running across the room to Marlene, picking out her outfit from the mess on her friend's bed. "Here," she said, passing Marlene her maroon skirt and white top. Marlene pulled the outfit on happily, grabbing her black cardigan off her bed to pull on over top.

"Marls, you never did mention whom you're going on a date with," Lily reminded her, passing the girl her ankle boots.

The blonde grinned at Lily from where the stood in front of the mirror, applying a tiny bit of mascara to her eyes. "Keith Crestfellowe," she smiled brightly, spinning around to her friend.

"The Ravenclaw chaser?" Lily gasped.

"The one and only," Marlene sang, throwing her mascara back into her makeup bag. "And I hear he's best friends with your date," she grinned, elbowing Lily teasingly.

"I've heard that too," Lily smiled.

"Do I sense a little crush?" Marlene prodded, looking at Lily excitedly.

The auburn-haired girl shook her head as she walked back towards her bed, stashing her novel into her bag and throwing it over her shoulder. "I've never even talked to the boy," she sighed exasperated, "I'm only going on the date as a favor to Hestia."

"So if he asked you out again or tried to kiss you, what would you do?" Marlene questioned her seriously.

"I don't know, I haven't even gone on a date with him yet," Lily responded, though she was blushing slightly.

"You're blushing!" Marlene exclaimed, grinning as she jumped off her bed, grabbing a hold of Lily's arm.

"Lily's blushing, why is that?" Alice teased, coming across the room with Hestia to join the other two girls.

"She's thinking about David kissing her," Marlene informed them, much to Lily's protests.

Hestia and Alice both squealed annoyingly, hugging Lily tightly.

"I'm a little surprised to be honest," Alice said after a while. "I was sure Potter and his bands of goons were going to mess it up."

"I'm still a little confused as to why he hasn't asked you out once yet this year," Hestia admitted.

"He's trying not to be so much of an arse," Marlene told them. "He's trying to leave you alone in that department, just like he told you on the train at the end of last year."

"Can we please just go down and get some food from the Great Hall before we meet them?" Lily begged Hestia who nodded along with the others.

The brunette crossed the room, grabbed her bag before grabbing Lily's wrist and dragging her out of the room. Marlene and Alice laughed at Hestia's excitement, grabbing their own bags before taking off after their friends.

* * *

><p>The village looked as beautiful as it always had to Lily as she wandered down the streets with David, admiring the fall leaves that were on the trees surrounding Hogsmeade. They had agreed to meet up with Hestia and Jacob at the Three Broomsticks in a couple of hours, using the time before then to wander around the village.<p>

"Do you want to go into Honeydukes?" he asked her, motioning towards the shop.

"Sure," she grinned, pushing the store door open.

The storefront was packed with Hogwarts students, picking, purchasing and consuming their treats. David led her towards the Bertie Botts Every Flavored Beans, which he informed her were his absolute favourite. She grabbed a couple different treats around the store, including a couple of Chocolate Frogs.

"Here," David smiled at her, taking the sweets out of her arms and placing them on the counter with his.

"You don't have to," she interjected, "I have the money right here," she told him, holding out the correct change in her hand, extending it towards him.

He closed her fingers around the money and gently pushed her hand back towards her. "I want to," he told her, before turning around to pay the cashier. He passed her brown paper bag to her, full of her sweets, which she immediately placed into her bag next to her book.

"What book is that?" David asked her, noticing it in her bag.

She pulled it out of her bag, showing it to him.

James watched as she emerged from Honeydukes with him, a brown paper bag filled with treats in her hand. He watched as David's eyes lingered on Lily's hand, watching as she opened her bag to stick the sweets inside. His heart stopped when he saw her pull the blue hard covered book out of her bag, showing it to David who was paying little attention to it, his gaze focused still on her hands.

"What's your favourite part?" David asked her, but Lily's eyes had met James' across the way.

She gave him a smile and a small wave, something David didn't fail to notice.

"Lily?" he asked, bringing her back to their date.

"Aslan's sacrifice," she breathed, her gaze still lingering on James. She shook her head, trying to snap herself out of it. "How's Quidditch going?" she asked him, suddenly not wanting to discuss her novel with him.

A smile played on his lips when the topic of Quidditch was brought up. "We're shaping up pretty well," he told her, continuing on their stroll once more. "I'm confident that we are going to do well this year, hopefully better than Gryffindor, sorry."

"Don't apologize," she told him, smiling, "House rivalries in Quidditch are expected. I'd expect nothing less."

"We play your house first," he informed her.

"Oh, really? I haven't been paying attention."

"How is that even possible, Lily? You're in a house with James Potter and Sirius Black, and isn't one of your best-friends on the team?"

"Marls?" Lily laughed, "She is, and I guess you're right. I've been in the library a lot though, so I haven't been in too many of their conversations."

"How are you liking the N.E.W.T's level classes?"

"They're incredible," she sighed blissfully. "The content is so exciting to learn about, and the Professors I think enjoy having smaller class sizes. I know Slughorn certainly enjoys it. He gets the chance to challenge us much more, a welcome change in my mind."

They stood there, awkwardly in the middle of the high street, their heads turning as they watched others go by.

"Is this as awkward for you as it is for me?" he asked her suddenly.

"Sorry?"

"It's just that I've liked you for a while," he explained to her, "But this just feels awkward."

"Maybe a little," Lily laughed.

"I agreed to go because my brother asked," David admitted, chuckling.

"Hestia begged, and I can't say no to her, not when she's done so much for me," Lily sighed truthfully, giggling a little as well.

"This is a huge relief," David laughed. "Do you want to go wait for them in the Three-Broomsticks?"

"Hey Lily, are you two coming in to get some butterbeer?" James asked, coming up behind the couple.

"We were just about to go in," Lily told James, before turning once again to David and following him.

The pub was filled with Hogwarts students, and Lily's eyes scanned the crowds for her friend. James pointed them out from beside her, noticing that his friends were sitting there too. David led them through the crowd, pulling out Lily's chair for her when they reached the table.

Hestia smirked at Lily when she sat down and Lily rolled her eyes in response.

"How has your afternoon been, Lily?" Remus asked after taking a sip from his butterbeer.

"I'll be right back," David told her, getting up.

Lily turned to Remus, holding up her bag from Honeydukes. "It's been good, stocked up on some chocolate," she told him.

"So did I," Remus grinned, holding his up as well.

"And your date?"

"It's not a date," Lily told him quickly. "We don't like each other like that."

James perked up immediately at this, having been eavesdropping on the conversation going on. He leaned over to whisper to Sirius, calling the plan off that he knew was going to unravel the moment David came back to the table. Sirius waved Peter down across the pub, calling him back to the table, scurrying.

"Did you get all the supplies you needed?" Lily asked turning to Sirius, but then quickly held her hand up before he had the chance to answer. "Never mind, I probably don't want to know."

"Afraid of becoming guilty by association?" Sirius teased her.

Lily scoffed at the thought. "As if I would ever be caught dead pulling a prank with you lot," she exclaimed.

The four boys grinned at one another before turning to her. Her eyes went wide when she saw the way they were looking at her. She leaned slightly away from them out of instinct.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked them outright, though her gaze landed on Sirius who she suspected was the ringleader of this little scheme.

"That sounded like a challenge to me, Evans," he told her, wriggling his eyebrows in such a fashion that she was reminded of Marlene.

"No, no, it was not a challenge at all," she exclaimed in attempt to set the record straight. "Sirius Black, if you even think for a moment that I would ever in a million years help you idiots plan a prank that could possibly land me in detention, or worse have my prefect ship taken away then you are wrongly mistaken. No way, I'm putting my foot down. Look, it's planted on the floor. No!"

"Say what you will Evans, but it was still a challenge," Sirius chided, "One that I full well plan to take you up on when you least expect it."

"I'll take away house points if you so much as think of involving me," she told him, slamming her fist down on the table.

Sirius, James, Peter and Remus just laughed at her.

"Evans, Evans, Evans," Sirius shook his head. "Remus here is already our delegated prefect. Don't you think we've been threatened with house point deductions and detentions before from this guy?" he asked, pointing his thumb at Remus.

"It's true," Remus agreed. "I've tried."

"So you'll have to think of some new material if you want to frighten us enough to not involve you in our most epic prank to date," Sirius told her, sitting back in his chair, his arms crossed across his chest, sitting as though he just won the biggest argument ever to occur.

"The frogs are our most epic plan to date?" Peter questioned.

"No, Wormy, the most epic plan hasn't been planned yet, but when it is," Sirius told him, eying Lily down as he did, "Evans is going to help us execute it to perfection and it will be so big no one will ever be able to top it!"

Lily sighed loudly, hitting her head against the table.

"What did you do to break Lily now?" Marlene called to the boys from the other end of the table.

"You'll find out one day," Sirius hollered back at her, making the blonde roll her eyes.

"Here you go," David's voice rang out from behind her.

Lily pulled her head off of the table, and smiled up at the boy. David placed a butter beer in front of her before taking his seat once again next to her.

"Thank-you," she said to him, after taking a sip.

"You've got foam on your lips," he told her, smiling at the sight.

She giggled a little, grabbing a napkin to wipe it off. "Thanks," she grinned.

"So what are you going to do for the afternoon?" he asked her, taking a swig of his drink.

"I'll probably go back to the castle and finish some work," she said simply. "And then when Hestia and Marlene get back Alice and I will listen to them go on and on about how their dates went."

"Lils we're going to need some more snacks if we are to survive this night," Alice chided from her place across the table next to Frank.

Lily laughed, nodding her head, knowing that candy was the only thing that would get them through the night of endless chatter.

"Do you girls do this often?" David laughed, watching their exchange.

"Only when one of us has a date with, well anyone," Hestia piped in. "Although they are both normally stuck listening because Alice has been dating Frank since fourth year and Lily hasn't been on many or ones long enough to dish about."

"Hestia!" Lily shrieked.

"It's not a bad thing," Hestia told her, grinning. "It just means you don't settle!"

Lily rolled her eyes at the girl, making all those around them laugh.

"Just for that, Hest, you are not getting invited to New Years," Lily remarked.

Hestia's face dropped. "You wouldn't!"

"Really?"

"Lily! I'll do anything! I need your mum's baking and the fondue, and your cute cousins!" Hestia begged making their friends erupt in laughter once more.

Lily stared her friend down before relenting, laughing. "Fine, but you've been warned."

"I will never publicly embarrass you again, I swear to Merlin!" Hestia apologized.

"Good thing it's Hest making that promise and not Marlene," Alice joked.

"I am not that bad," Marlene argued, though she was grinning at the validity of the statement.

"I'd beg to differ," Alice called to the girl.

"Why am I friends with you three?" Marlene grumbled, slumping back into her chair. Her date laughed a little at her expression, sliding his arm over her shoulder comfortingly. The girls noticed her perk up a little at the action, which made them giggle and Marlene return to glaring at them all once again.

"You are all hilarious," David laughed along with everyone else at the whole exchange.

"We aim to entertain," Hestia giggled.

David glanced down at his watch, turning to Lily. "Sorry, but I promised my friend I would help her with an essay tonight," he apologized, getting up out of his chair. "It was nice hanging out with all of you," he told the group before addressing his brother, "See you in the common room later, Jake."

* * *

><p>"What was that?" Hestia demanded to know when the girls entered the dorm after dinner that night.<p>

Lily stalked off to the bathroom, closing the door behind her. Marlene laughed at the sight, sitting on the edge of her bed to pull off her boots, Alice doing the same while they watched Hestia knock on the door continuously waiting for Lily to reemerge.

"Lily! You were blushing when we left this morning and then he up and leaves to go help another girl! What aren't you telling me?" Hestia demanded, knocking on the door once again.

"We don't like each other like that, that's all," Lily sighed, coming out of the bathroom, the makeup scrubbed off of her face.

"What does that even mean?" Marlene questioned, moving to sit on Lily's bed.

"He liked me, but the date was awkward for the both of us and we just realized that the only reason we were there was because of Hestia and Jacob," Lily explained. "Which is a date I would much rather hear about," she said to Hestia, grinning at her friend.

Hestia beamed. "Well if you must know…"

* * *

><p><em>All recognizable J.K Rowling content is hers and I take no credit for it. If you have time, please please please please please review. I want to know what you think! <em>


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